troglodyte

English

WOTD – 19 April 2007

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”).

troglodyte (plural troglodytes)

A member of a supposed prehistoric race that lived in caves or holes, a caveman.
(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.
(derogatory) A reclusive, reactionary or out-of-date person, especially if brutish.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 ...
The Eurasian wren, Troglodytes troglodytes.
(computing) A person who chooses not to keep up to date with the latest software and hardware.

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

reclusive or out-of-date person

person who chooses not to keep up to date

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