Neanderthal
- of or relating to Neanderthal man.
- (often lowercase) Informal. primitive, unenlightened, or reactionary; culturally or intellectually backward.
- Neanderthal man.
- (often lowercase) Informal.
- an unenlightened or ignorant person; barbarian.
- a reactionary; a person with very old-fashioned ideas.
Origin of Neanderthal
Examples from the Web for neanderthal
Contemporary Examples of neanderthal
Early on, the sexual protagonist complains that her Molson-drinking husband is pretty much an incompetent Neanderthal.
If you think of yourself as more than a knuckle-dragging Neanderthal, you can stand up and be respectful.
“He was no Neanderthal,” says former U.S. senator Richard Bryan.
Scientists extract complete Neanderthal genome from fossil—97 percent match to A&E programming.
There have been many posts lately about countries with maternity/paternity leave, it's depressing how Neanderthal America seems.
Historical Examples of neanderthal
In truth, the Neanderthal cranium has most extraordinary characters.
On Some Fossil Remains of ManThomas H. Huxley
It seemed but a step to the Neanderthal skull and our Troglodyte forbears.
A Labrador DoctorWilfred Thomason Grenfell
In stature, no important divergence from the Neanderthal type can be noted.
Prehistoric ManW. L. H. Duckworth
Herein they are strongly contrasted with skeletons of the Neanderthal group.
Prehistoric ManW. L. H. Duckworth
Of these four, the Neanderthal type is regarded as the most ancient.
Prehistoric ManW. L. H. Duckworth
Neanderthal
- relating to or characteristic of Neanderthal man
- primitive; uncivilized
- informal ultraconservative; reactionary
- a person showing any such characteristics
Word Origin and History for neanderthal
Neanderthal
1861, in reference to a type of extinct hominid, from German Neanderthal "Neander Valley," name of a gorge near Düsseldorf where humanoid fossils were identified in 1856. The place name is from the Graecized form of Joachim Neumann (literally "new man," Greek *neo-ander), 1650-1680, German pastor, poet and hymn-writer, who made this a favorite spot in the 1670s. Adopting a classical form of one's surname was a common practice among educated Germans in this era. As a noun, by 1915; as a type f a big, brutish, stupid person from 1926.
Neanderthal
- An extinct variety of human that lived throughout Europe and in parts of western Asia and northern Africa during the late Pleistocene Epoch, until about 30,000 years ago. Neanderthals had a stocky build and large skulls with thick eyebrow ridges and big teeth. They usually lived in caves, made flaked stone tools, and were the earliest humans known to bury their dead. Neanderthals were either a subspecies of modern humans (Homo sapiens neanderthalensis) or a separate, closely related species (Homo neanderthalensis). They coexisted with early modern humans (Cro-Magnons) for several thousand years before becoming extinct, but are not generally believed to have interbred with them. See also Mousterian.