Neanderthal

See also: neanderthal

English

Alternative forms

• neanderthal

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 (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Ancient Greek translation of his original surname Neumann (“Newman”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: nē.ănʹdə.täl', IPA^(key): /niːˈæn.dəˌtɑːl/,
• enPR: nē.ănʹdər.thäl', IPA^(key): /niːˈæn.dɚˌθɑːl/; enPR: nē.ănʹdər.täl', IPA^(key): /niːˈæn.dɚˌtɑːl/,, 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^[1]:

     […] 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.

Translations

of or pertaining to Homines neanderthalenses

• Czech: neandertálský
• French: néandertalien (fr)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Polish: neandertalski (pl)
• Russian: неандертальский (ru) (neandertalʹskij)
• Slovak: neandertálsky
• Spanish: neanderthal, neandertal

of or pertaining to Neander Valley

• Esperanto: neandertala
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Russian: неандерта́льский (ru) (neandɛrtálʹskij)

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, pages 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.

Translations

a Homo neanderthalensis specimen

• Catalan: neandertal m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 尼安德特人 (zh) (ní'āndétèrén), 尼安德塔人 (zh) (ní'āndétǎrén)

• Czech: neandertálec m
• Danish: neandertaler c
• Dutch: neanderthaler (nl) m
• Esperanto: neandertalulo, neandertala homo
• French: homme de Néandertal (fr) m
• German: Neandertaler (de) m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Japanese: ネアンデルタール人 (neanderutārujin)
• Korean: 네안데르탈인 (neandereutarin)
• Macedonian: неандерта́лец m (neandertálec)
• Navajo: Bilagáana bizází ałkʼidą́ą́ʼ yę́ęyígíí
• Polish: neandertalczyk (pl) m
• Portuguese: neandertal m or f
• Russian: неандерта́лец (ru) m (neandɛrtálec), неандерта́лка (ru) f (neandɛrtálka), палеоантропо́м m (paleoantropóm) (another name in the USSR)
• Spanish: neandertal m
• Swedish: neandertalare (sv) c

a primitive person

• Bulgarian: неандерта́лец m (neandertálec)
• Catalan: neandertal m
• Czech: neandertálec m
• Esperanto: neandertala homo, neandertalulo
• French: homme de Néandertal (fr) m
• Georgian: ნეანდერტალელი (neanderṭaleli)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• German: Neandertaler (de) m
• Macedonian: неандерта́лец m (neandertálec)
• Polish: neandertalczyk (pl) m
• Portuguese: neandertal m or f
• Russian: неандерта́лец (ru) m (neandɛrtálec), неандерта́лка (ru) f (neandɛrtálka)
• Spanish: neandertal m
• Swedish: neandertalare (sv) c

Further reading

• “Neanderthal”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.