Meanings
alternative capitalized Anthropophagi
- pluralplural of anthropophagus
Histories make mention of a people called Anthropophagi, eaters of men.
1581, B. Gilpin, A godly sermon preached in the court at Greenwich2 more examples
It was my hent to ſpeake, ſuch was the proceſſe: And of the Cannibals, that each other eate; The Anthropophagie, and men whoſe heads Doe grow beneath their ſhoulders: […]
c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, The Tragœdy of Othello, the Moore of Venice. […] (First Quarto), London: […] N[icholas] O[kes] for Thomas Walkley, […], published 1622, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii], page 13A poor New Zealander, whose forefathers had from time immemorial been anthropophagi.
1837, J. D. Lang, An historical and statistical account of New South Wales, I. 386
Origin
- Ancient Greekἀνθρωποφάγος“man-eating”
- Latinanthrōpophagī
- Englishanthropophagi
From Latin anthrōpophagī, the plural of anthrōpophagus, from Ancient Greek ἀνθρωποφάγος (anthrōpophágos, “man-eating”). First attested in 1581, as an ethnonym. Use of the singular anthropophagus is rare.
More words from Latin, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
anthropophagi. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/anthropophagi
“anthropophagi.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/anthropophagi. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “anthropophagi,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/anthropophagi.
Source: anthropophagi on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.