From South to North. The Itinerary of the Antilles Loanword Caníbal in Europe

Abstract

This article deals with the presence of the Antilles loanword caníbal in Danish and Icelandic. It appears to be a loanword of a Caribbean origin which was borrowed via Spanish by other European languages from the 16th century onwards. The history of the word is explained from Spanish —vehicular language of most of the pre-Hispanic Amerindian voices— to the recipient languages: Italian, German, Danish and Icelandic. The first written sources of the word are documented and the formal and semantic changes undergone by it are also examined.

https://doi.org/10.17398/2660-7301.40.25