Can"ni*bal noun
Etymology
Cf. F.
cannibale. Columbus, in a letter to the Spanish monarchs written in Oct., 1498, mentions that the people of Hayti lived in great fear of the
Caribales (equivalent to E.
Caribbees.), the inhabitants of the smaller Antilles; which form of the name was afterward changed into NL.
Canibales, in order to express more forcibly their character by a word intelligible through a Latin root "propter rabiem
caninam anthropophagorum gentis." The Caribbees call themselves, in their own language.
Calinago,
Carinago,
Calliponam, and, abbreviated,
Calina, signifying a brave, from which Columbus formed his
Caribales.
Definitions
- A human being that eats human flesh; hence, any that devours its own kind.
Darwin.
