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Neanderthal definition

Ne·an·der·thal (nē an′dər t̸hôl′, -täl′)

adjective

  1. designating, of, or from a valley in the Rhine Province, Germany
  2. designating or of a widespread form of early human being (Homo sapiens neanderthalensis) of the Upper Pleistocene Epoch whose skeletal remains were first found in this valley
    1. crude or primitive
    2. reactionary; regressive

Etymology: Ger, lit., Neander valley (Ger thal, tal, valley, akin to dale): after Joachim Neander (1650-80), Ger hymn writer

noun

  1. a Neanderthal human being
  2. a crude, primitive, reactionary, etc. person
Often, for adj. 2 & n. 1, Neandertal Ne·an′·der·tal′ (-täl′)

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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