troglodyte

[ trog-luh-dahyt ]

noun

1. a prehistoric cave dweller.
2. a person of degraded, primitive, or brutal character.
3. a person living in seclusion.
4. a person unacquainted with affairs of the world.
5. an animal living underground.

troglodyte

/ ˈtrɒɡləˌdaɪt; ˌtrɒɡləˈdɪtɪk /

noun

1. a cave dweller, esp one of the prehistoric peoples thought to have lived in caves
2. informal.
   a person who lives alone and appears eccentric

Derived Forms

• troglodytic, adjective

Other Words From

• trog·lo·dyt·ic [trog-l, uh, -, dit, -ik], troglo·dyti·cal adjective
• trog·lo·dyt·ism [trog, -l, uh, -dahy-tiz-, uh, m], noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of troglodyte¹

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”; trogon ) + dý(ein) “to creep into” + -tēs agent suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of troglodyte¹

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

Example Sentences

Reactionary troglodyte Tea Party embraces the Constitution—says it means government wronging rights.

From The Daily Beast

You need not be a right-wing troglodyte to see this as a regrettable consequence of progress.

From The Daily Beast

The troglodyte would have clubbed Darling, and later, if the lady played tricks, he would have ended her in the same way.

From Project Gutenberg

This dim troglodyte industry was in truth the centre and mainspring of all industries, without which trade would stop.

From Project Gutenberg

The people have plenty of fowls, and they too obtain shelter in these Troglodyte habitations.

From Project Gutenberg

Images of gouged out earth, mole hills and a troglodyte's existence in the trenches of Verdun flickered across Bertrand's mind.

From Project Gutenberg

In the beginning there must have been in these cliffs natural caves occupied by our earliest troglodyte ancestors.

From Project Gutenberg