Carib

[ kar-ib ]

noun,plural Car·ibs, (especially collectively) Car·ib for 1.
  1. a member of a group of Indigenous peoples formerly dominant in the Lesser Antilles, now found in parts of the West Indies, Central America, and northeastern South America.

  2. the family of languages spoken by the Caribs.

adjective
  1. of or relating to the Caribs or their languages.

Origin of Carib

1
First recorded in 1545–55; from Spanish caribe, from Taíno caniba, caribe, apparently “brave, daring, fierce person,” perhaps ultimately a borrowing from Carib kalina, karina “(brave, strong) person” or derived from a Cariban root that also appears in the names of the Garifuna, Kalina, and Kalinago peoples; see Kalina

Words Nearby Carib

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How to use Carib in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for Carib

Carib

/ (ˈkærɪb) /


noun
  1. plural -ibs or -ib a member of a group of American Indian peoples of NE South America and the Lesser Antilles

  2. the family of languages spoken by these peoples

Origin of Carib

1
C16: from Spanish Caribe, from Arawak

Derived forms of Carib

  • Cariban, adjective

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