Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “caveman” come from?

Caveman combines English cave, from Latin cavus meaning hollow, and English man, from Proto-Indo-European men- meaning to think or project.

caveman (English): An early human or closely related species,...

Definitions

  1. An early human or closely related species,...

Ancestry of “caveman”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishMANInitialism of Metropolitan Area Network
2Middle EnglishmanTypically singular, indefinite pronoun: one, you;...
3Old Englishmānbad, criminal, false; shameful act; crime;...
4Sanskritमहादेव—
5Sanskritमहाcombining form of महत्; buffalo; great, large,...
6Sanskritमहायान—
7Sanskritयानcarriage, vehicle, mode of transport; moving,...
8Proto-Indo-AryanyáHnam—
9Proto-Indo-IranianyáHnam—
10Proto-Indo-Europeanyéh₂-nom—
11Proto-Indo-Europeanyeh₂-to go; to go in, enter; to ride, to travel

Words derived from “caveman”

  • cavemanlike
Every word from Proto-Indo-European yeh₂- →