Friday word: Troglodyte

[med_cat]

troglodyte, n. trog·lo·dyte \ˈträ-glə-ˌdīt\


1: a member of any of various peoples (as in antiquity) who lived or were reputed to live chiefly in caves

2: a person characterized by reclusive habits or outmoded or reactionary attitudes

Example:

troglodytes who believed that women had no place in the military, except perhaps as nurses>

Did You Know?

Peer into the etymological cave of troglodyte and you’ll find a trōglē. But don't be afraid. Trōglē may sound like a scary cave-dwelling ogre, but it's actually just a perfectly unintimidating Greek root that means "hole" or "cave." Is troglodyte the only English word to have descended from trōglē? Not exactly. Troglodyte and its related adjective troglodytic (meaning "of, related to, or being a troglodyte") are the only trōglē offspring that are widely used in general English contexts, but another trōglē progeny, the prefix troglo-, meaning "cave-dwelling," is used in scientific contexts to form words like troglobiont ("an animal living in or restricted to caves").

Etymology:

Latin troglodytae, plural, from Greek trōglodytai, from trōglē hole, cave (akin to Greek trōgein to gnaw, Armenian aracem I lead to pasture, graze) + dyein to enter

First Known Use: 1555