# Troglodytes **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 27, 2009, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/troglodytes/487695 "2009-02-27T18:15:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2009, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/troglodytes/487695/1 "2009-02-27T18:15:14Z")
Over in the BBQ Pit there’s a fun thread [I pit thee, SDMB Cafe Society Troglodytes](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=508122) that had me a little baffled in that I guess the last time I had much occasion to use the word (a couple of generations ago) it was in the first sense of the definitions found at [http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/troglodyte](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/troglodyte) which says: troglodyte One entry found. Main Entry: trog·lo·dyte Pronunciation: \ˈträ-glə-ˌdīt\ Function: noun 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 Date: 1555 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 — trog·lo·dyt·ic \ˌträ-glə-ˈdi-tik\ adjective **or at [http://www.thefreedictionary.com/troglodyte](http://www.thefreedictionary.com/troglodyte) which has:** trog·lo·dyte (trgl-dt) n. 1. a. A member of a fabulous or prehistoric race of people that lived in caves, dens, or holes. b. A person considered to be reclusive, reactionary, out of date, or brutish. 2. a. An anthropoid ape, such as a gorilla or chimpanzee. b. An animal that lives underground, as an ant or a worm. * * * [From Latin Trglodytae, a people said to be cave dwellers, from Greek Trglodutai, alteration (influenced by trgl, hole, and -dutai, those who enter) of Trgodutai.] * * * troglo·dytic (-dtk), troglo·dyti·cal (–kl) adj. **as well as a** Thesaurus Noun 1. troglodyte - one who lives in solitude recluse, solitudinarian, hermit, solitary lone hand, lone wolf, loner - a person who avoids the company or assistance of others 1. troglodyte - someone who lives in a cave cave dweller, cave man, caveman primitive, primitive person - a person who belongs to an early stage of civilization ================================ Now, the point of this thread is to find other synonyms that don’t appear in those sources (I didn’t want to keep looking online if the term has an SDMB significance I wasn’t aware of) or else a better definition than the quoted ones. Isn’t there a _Gulliver’s Travels_ term that is used synonymously at times? What are some others that _troglodyte_ makes you think of? All it made me think of was the old BC comic! Or The Flintstones.