Caliban
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of Caliban
First recorded in 1610–15; probably a variant of cannibal ( def. ) or Carib ( def. )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“The isle is full of noises,” sings Caliban, and on Tuesday night it certainly was.
From New York Times ● Aug. 31, 2023
Jack Chadwick chanced upon an old copy of Jack Hilton's semi-autobiographical Caliban Shrieks in 2021.
From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2023
The tension between Mescal’s Stanley and Ferran’s Blanche brews in a cocktail of incompatible spirits: Mescal’s earthbound Caliban, if you will, to Ferran’s flighty Ariel.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 18, 2023
Caliban gives these fellows the idea of killing Prospero and taking over the island, but they quickly reveal themselves to be his moral inferiors.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 28, 2023
Who would play which role and how would they do the beast Caliban and what kinds of stage dinos would they use and how would the rowdy crowd react and...
From "Dactyl Hill Squad" by Daniel José Older
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.