troglodyte

[ trog-luh-dahyt ]

/ ˈtrɒg ləˌdaɪt /

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See synonyms for: troglodyte / troglodytes / troglodytic on Thesaurus.com

noun

a prehistoric cave dweller.

a person of degraded, primitive, or brutal character.

a person living in seclusion.

a person unacquainted with affairs of the world.

an animal living underground.

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Origin of troglodyte

First recorded in 1545–55; from Latin trōglodyta, from Greek trōglodýtēs “one who creeps into holes, cave dweller,” equivalent to trōglo- (combining form of trṓglē “a hole formed by gnawing”; cf. trogon) + dý(ein) “to creep into” + -tēs agent suffix

OTHER WORDS FROM troglodyte

trog·lo·dyt·ic

[trog-luh-dit-ik], /ˌtrɒg ləˈdɪt ɪk/, trog·lo·dyt·i·cal, adjectivetrog·lo·dyt·ism

[trog-luh-dahy-tiz-uhm], /ˈtrɒg lə daɪˌtɪz əm/, noun

Words nearby troglodyte

trode, Troezen, troffer, trog, troglobiont, troglodyte, trogon, Troia, troika, troilism, troilite

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use troglodyte in a sentence

Reactionary troglodyte Tea Party embraces the Constitution—says it means government wronging rights.
P.J. O’Rourke: Who Really Actually Wants This Bill of Rights?|P. J. O’Rourke|April 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
You need not be a right-wing troglodyte to see this as a regrettable consequence of progress.
Bedding the Boss|Tracy Quan|October 5, 2009|DAILY BEAST
The troglodyte would have clubbed Darling, and later, if the lady played tricks, he would have ended her in the same way.
The Tigress|Anne Warner
This dim troglodyte industry was in truth the centre and mainspring of all industries, without which trade would stop.
The Wanderings of a Spiritualist|Arthur Conan Doyle

The people have plenty of fowls, and they too obtain shelter in these Troglodyte habitations.
The Last Journals of David Livingstone, in Central Africa, from 1865 to His Death, Volume I (of 2), 1866-1868|David Livingstone
Images of gouged out earth, mole hills and a troglodyte's existence in the trenches of Verdun flickered across Bertrand's mind.
The Land of Look Behind|Paul Cameron Brown
In the beginning there must have been in these cliffs natural caves occupied by our earliest troglodyte ancestors.
The Car That Went Abroad|Albert Bigelow Paine

British Dictionary definitions for troglodyte

troglodyte

/ (ˈtrɒɡləˌdaɪt) /

noun

a cave dweller, esp one of the prehistoric peoples thought to have lived in caves

informal a person who lives alone and appears eccentric

Derived forms of troglodyte

troglodytic (ˌtrɒɡləˈdɪtɪk) or troglodytical, adjective

Word Origin for troglodyte

C16: via Latin from Greek trōglodutēs one who enters caves, from trōglē hole + duein to enter

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

troglodyte

Origin of troglodyte

OTHER WORDS FROM troglodyte

Words nearby troglodyte

Words related to troglodyte

How to use troglodyte in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for troglodyte

Derived forms of troglodyte

Word Origin for troglodyte