Neanderthal

See also: neanderthal

English

Etymology

From German Neanderthal, now spelled Neandertal, the name of a valley (German Tal, older also spelled Thal) near Düsseldorf where the first Neanderthal was discovered in 1856. A hollow near the valley was known as Neanderhöhle (“Neander Hollow”) and Neandershöhle (“Neander’s Hollow”) in the early 19th century, and the valley had been renamed to Neanderthal in 1850, in honour of the German Calvinist theologian and hymn writer Joachim Neander (1650–1680). Before, the valley was known as das Gesteins (“The Rocks”) and Hundsklipp (“Dog Cliff”).

The name of Joachim Neander is based on the Ancient Greek translation of his original surname Neumann (“Newman”).

Pronunciation
  • (UK) enPR: nē.ănʹdə.täl', IPA(key): /niːˈæn.dəˌtɑːl/,[1]
  • (US) enPR: nē.ănʹdər.thäl', IPA(key): /niːˈæn.dɚˌθɑːl/; enPR: nē.ănʹdər.täl', IPA(key): /niːˈæn.dɚˌtɑːl/,[1], IPA(key): /niˈændəɹθəl/
  • Audio (US)(file)

Adjective

Neanderthal (not comparable)

  1. Of or pertaining to Homines neanderthalenses.
    The capacity of the Neanderthal skull was 10% larger than that of modern humans.
    • 2019, Razib Khan, Arabia between Africa and Eurasia:
      […] In short, many assessments conclude that East Asians have more Neanderthal ancestry than Europeans, who have more Neanderthal ancestry than people in the Middle East.
  2. Old-fashioned, opposed to change (in allusion to Homo neanderthalensis).
  3. Of or pertaining to the Neander Valley in Germany.

Alternative forms

Translations
of or pertaining to Homines neanderthalenses — see neanderthal

Noun

Neanderthal (plural Neanderthals)

  1. A specimen of the now extinct species Homo neanderthalensis.
    • 2014, Elizabeth Kolbert, The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History, Picador, →ISBN, page 250-251:
      These injuries may reflect the rigors of hunting with the Neanderthals' limited repertoire of weapons; the Neanderthals never seem to have developed projectiles, so they would have to have gotten more or less on top of their prey in order to kill them.
  2. (derogatory) A primitive person.

Alternative forms

Translations
a primitive person — see neanderthal

References
  1. “Neanderthal” listed in the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (Cambridge University Press 2009)
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.