Neanderthal

Meanings

Adjective

• Of or pertaining to Homo neanderthalensis.
• Old-fashioned, opposed to change.
• Of or pertaining to the Neander Valley in Germany.

Noun

• A specimen of the now extinct species Homo neanderthalensis.
• A primitive, savage or uncivilized person.

Origin

• 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 and Neandershöhle 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 and Hundsklipp.
• The name of Joachim Neander is based on the Ancient Greek translation (νέος + ἀνήρ) of his original surname Neumann.