Carib

Car·ib

noun \ˈka-rəb\

Definition of CARIB

1

: a member of an Indian people of northern South America and the Lesser Antilles

2

: the language of the Caribs

Origin of CARIB

New Latin Caribes (plural), from Spanish Caribe, of Cariban origin — more at cannibal

First Known Use: 1555

Rhymes with CARIB

Arab, carob, scarab

Carib

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

American Indian people who inhabited the Lesser Antilles and parts of the South American coast at the time of the Spanish conquest. The Island Carib (now extinct) were a warlike, individualistic people who reportedly practiced cannibalism (the term derives from their name). Carib groups on the mainland, some of whom still survive, lived in the Guianas and as far south as the Amazon River; they subsisted by hunting and growing crops and were less aggressive than their island relatives.