neanderthal
English · Français · Thesaurus
AI In plain words
Writing a short explanation…
Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
neanderthal¹
adjective
- Alternative letter-case form of Neanderthal
noun neanderthals
- Alternative letter-case form of Neanderthal
Neanderthal²
- /niːˈæn.dəˌtɑːl/ UK
- /niˈæn.dɚˌθɑl/ US
- /niˈæn.dɚ.θəl/ US
- /niˈæn.dɚˌtɑl/ US
Where it comes from
From obsolete German Neanderthal, now spelled Neandertal, the name of a valley (German Tal, older also spelled Thal) near Düsseldorf where the first Neanderthal was discovered in 1856. A hollow near the valley was known as Neanderhöhle (“Neander Hollow”) and Neandershöhle (“Neander’s Hollow”) in the early 19th century, and the valley had been renamed to Neanderthal in 1850, in honour of the German Calvinist theologian and hymn writer Joachim Neander (1650–1680). Before, the valley was known as das Gesteins (literally “The Rocks [sg.]”) and Hundsklipp (literally “Dog Cliff”).
The name of Joachim Neander is based on the Ancient Greek translation (νέος (néos) + ᾰ̓νήρ (ănḗr)) of his original surname Neumann (“Newman”).
The pronunciation with the "th" sound (/θ/) is a spelling pronunciation; the original German word is pronounced with a "t" sound (/t/).
adjective neanderthal · Neandertal
- Of or pertaining to Homo neanderthalensis. The capacity of the Neanderthal skull was 10% larger than that of modern humans.
- Old-fashioned, opposed to change.
- Primitive, savage or uncivilized.
- Of or pertaining to the Neander Valley in Germany.
noun Neanderthals · neanderthal · Neandertal
-
A specimen of the now extinct species Homo neanderthalensis.
These injuries may reflect the rigors of hunting with the Neanderthals' limited repertoire of weapons; the Neanderthals never seem to have developed projectiles, so they would have to have gotten more or less on top of their prey in order to kill them.
Similar: Neandertaler, Neanderthalian
- A primitive, savage or uncivilized person.
- A white person.
Translations
Every language
adj of or pertaining to Homo neanderthalensis
| Español | neanderthal, neandertal, neanderthalense |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 네안데르탈인 neandereutarin |
| Français | néandertalien |
| Русский | неандертальский neandertalʹskij |
adj of or pertaining to Neander Valley
| Español | neanderthal, neanderthalense |
|---|---|
| Русский | неандерта́льский neandɛrtálʹskij |
noun a primitive person
| Español | neandertal |
|---|---|
| Português | neandertal |
| Français | homme de Néandertal |
| Deutsch | Neandertaler |
| Русский | неандерта́лец neandɛrtálec, неандерта́лка neandɛrtálka |
noun a Homo neanderthalensis specimen
| Español | neandertal, neanderthal, neanderthalense |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 네안데르탈인 neandereutarin |
| 日本語 | ネアンデルタール人 neanderutārujin |
| 中文 | 尼安德特人 ní'āndétèrén, 尼安德塔人 ní'āndétǎrén |
| Português | neandertal |
| Français | homme de Néandertal |
| Deutsch | Neandertaler |
| Русский | неандерта́лец neandɛrtálec, неандерта́лка neandɛrtálka, палеоантропо́м paleoantropóm |
| Tiếng Việt | Nê-an-đéc-tan |
Talk about this word "neanderthal." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/neanderthal. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. neanderthal. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/neanderthal "neanderthal." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/neanderthal.Cite this
@misc{neanderthal_2026,
title = {neanderthal},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/neanderthal},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
