troglodyte

English

WOTD – 19 April 2007

Etymology

From Latin trōglodyta (“cave dwelling people”), from Ancient Greek τρωγλοδύτης (trōglodútēs, “one who dwells in holes”), from τρώγλη (trṓglē, “hole”) +‎ δύω (dúō, “I get into”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈtɹɒɡlədaɪt/, /ˈtɹɒɡləʊdaɪt/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈt͡ʃɹɑɡlədaɪt/, /ˈt͡ʃɹɑɡloʊdaɪt/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

troglodyte (plural troglodytes)

1. A member of a supposed prehistoric race that lived in caves or holes, a caveman.
2. (by extension) Anything that lives underground.

   The cave was populated by albino scorpions, blind salamanders, and other troglodytes.

   • 1997 November 9, Josephine Humphreys, “The Loire Valley, Land of Kings and Troglodytes”, in The New York Times Style Magazine‎^[1]:

     Inhabited as early as the Gallo-Roman era, the caves of the troglodytes are slighted in guidebooks, naturally overshadowed by the chateaus of the kings.

3. (derogatory) A reclusive, reactionary or out-of-date person, especially if brutish.
   • 2013, John Rentoul, Tony Blair: Prime Minister, Faber & Faber, →ISBN:

     Blair brought out the febrile intensity of Stanhope, wiring himself into his ever more circumscribed troglodyte world, speculating moodily on the worm that went down when it thought it was coming up. Robert Philp thought Blair's ...

4. The Eurasian wren, Troglodytes troglodytes.
5. (computing) A person who chooses not to keep up to date with the latest software and hardware.

Derived terms

• trog
• troglodyke
• troglodytic

Translations

member of a supposed prehistoric race that lived in caves

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 穴居人 (zh) (xuéjūrén)

• Dutch: holbewoner (nl) m, holenmens (nl) m (rare)
• Estonian: koopaelanik
• Finnish: luolamies (fi), troglodyytti (fi)
• French: troglodyte (fr) m
• Galician: troglodita m or f
• German: Höhlenmensch (de) m, Troglodyt (de) m (rare)
• Greek:

  Ancient: τρωγλοδύτης m (trōglodútēs)

• Japanese: 穴居人 (けっきょじん, kekkyojin)
• Latvian: troglodīts m, alu cilvēks m
• Portuguese: troglodita (pt) m or f
• Romanian: troglodit (ro) m, troglodită (ro) f
• Russian: пеще́рный челове́к m (peščérnyj čelovék), троглоди́т (ru) m (troglodít)
• Spanish: cavernícola (es) m, troglodita (es) m or f
• Swedish: troglodyt (sv) c
• Turkish: mağara adamı

anything that lives underground

• French: troglodyte (fr) m or f
• Greek: τρωγλοδύτης (el) m (troglodýtis)
• Spanish: troglodita (es) m or f

reclusive or out-of-date person

• Finnish: fossiili (fi)
• Greek: τρωγλοδύτης (el) m (troglodýtis)
• Polish: troglodyta (pl) m
• Portuguese: troglodita (pt) m or f
• Romanian: troglodit (ro) m, troglodită (ro) f
• Russian: троглоди́т (ru) m (troglodít), отше́льник (ru) m (otšélʹnik)
• Spanish: troglodita (es) m or f
• Turkish: mağara adamı

person who chooses not to keep up to date

• Japanese: 隠者 (ja) (いんじゃ, inja)
• Russian: отше́льник (ru) m (otšélʹnik)

French

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin trōglodyta (“cave dwelling people”), itself borrowed from Ancient Greek τρωγλοδύτης (trōglodútēs, “one who dwells in holes”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tʁɔ.ɡlɔ.dit/

• Audio (Paris):

  (file)

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

troglodyte m or f by sense (plural troglodytes)

1. troglodyte

Noun

troglodyte m (plural troglodytes)

1. wren
2. chimpanzee

Derived terms

• troglodyte mignon

Further reading

• “troglodyte”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.