Caliban

American  

[kal-uh-ban] / ˈkæl əˌbæn /

noun

1. a character in Shakespeare's The Tempest, described as the half-human native inhabitant of the island, who is enslaved by the character Prospero.

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Caliban British  

/ ˈkælɪˌbæn /

noun

1. a brutish or brutalized man

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Etymology

Origin of Caliban

First recorded in 1610–15; probably a variant of cannibal ( def. ) or Carib ( def. )

Example Sentences

But Prospero is jolted into an awareness that Caliban and his confederates are plotting “a foul conspiracy” against his life, and he abruptly ends the show.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 13, 2025

“The isle is full of noises,” sings Caliban, and on Tuesday night it certainly was.

From New York Times • Aug. 31, 2023

That led Orwell to write his landmark The Road To Wigan Pier, which was published two years after Caliban Shrieks.

From BBC • Jul. 7, 2023

In an exhilarating production of “The Tempest” now at Round House Theatre, Caliban is a double-headed being, with two torsos and two muscular sets of limbs that hurtle him around the play’s charmed-island setting.

From Washington Post • Dec. 1, 2022

And by the way, for the record, I didn’t exactly say “Oh” when Sycorax and Caliban jumped out from the cages.

From "The Wednesday Wars" by Gary D. Schmidt