Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “cannibalism” come from?

Cannibalism derives from English cannibal, Ancient Greek -ισμός, Ancient Greek -μός, Proto-Indo-European -mós, and Arawak kalingo, originally denoting a person of a specific Caribbean people.

cannibalism (English): The act of eating another of one's own species;...

Definitions

  1. The act of eating another of one's own species;...

Ancestry of “cannibalism”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1English-ismUsed to form nouns of action or process or result...
2Latin-ismus-ism
3Ancient Greek-ισμόςForms abstract nouns
4Ancient Greek-μόςForms abstract nouns
5Proto-Indo-European-mósCreates action/result nouns from verb stems

Words derived from “cannibalism”

  • endocannibalism
  • exocannibalism
  • autocannibalism
  • anticannibalism
  • カニバリズム
  • κανιβαλισμός
  • αυτοκανιβαλισμός
  • kannibalizmus
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -mós →