Meanings
- biologyA supposed early human theorized from bone fragments said to have been found in a gravel pit in Piltdown, England, in 1912, but later identified as a forgery.
The Piltdown man of Sussex, England. Antiquity variously estimated at 100,000 to 300,000 years. The ape-like structure of the jaw does not prevent the expression of a considerable degree of intelligence in the face.
1914, Henry Fairfield Osborn, Men of the Old Stone Age: Their Environment, Life and ArtSynonyms: Eoanthropus dawsoni
Synonyms & antonyms
proper nounA supposed early human theorized from bone fragments said to have been found in a gravel pit in Piltdown, England, in 1912, but later identified as a forgery.
More synonyms by meaning
nouna supposedly primitive man later proven to be a hoax
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
German Piltdown-Mensch
- Piltdown-Menschforged bone fragments of an early human
Portuguese Homem de Piltdown
- Homem de Piltdownforged bone fragments of an early human
Cite this entry
Piltdown Man. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Piltdown%20Man
“Piltdown Man.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Piltdown%20Man. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Piltdown Man,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Piltdown%20Man.
Source: Piltdown Man on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.