Cannibalize
/ˈkæn.ɪ.bə.laɪz/noun
To dismantle, consume, or use up something of one’s own kind; in biology, to eat members of one’s own species.
Did you know?The word ultimately came into English through Spanish and French as a label for alleged Caribbean “cannibals,” and its modern meaning of self-consumption is a later metaphor built on that dark colonial history.
Etymological Timeline
Late 15th Century
Spanish
caníbal
“A supposedly man-eating person, especially in the Caribbean.”
16th Century
French
cannibale
“A man-eater; a human flesh-eater.”
16th Century
English
cannibal
“A person who eats human flesh.”
19th Century
English
cannibalize
“To convert parts from one machine, system, or source to repair or supply another.”
Modern English
English
cannibalize
“To consume, dismantle, or use up members or parts of the same kind.”
Explore more surprising origins