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Zin·jan·thro·pus

(zĭn-jănthrə-pəs, zĭn′jăn-thrōpəs)

An extinct hominin postulated from a skull found in Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania, in 1959 and originally designated Zinjanthropus boisei by Louis S.B. Leakey. It was later renamed Paranthropus boisei.

[New Latin Zinjanthrōpus, former genus name : Arabic zinj, zanj, the peoples of East Africa, black Africans + Greek anthrōpos, human being.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

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Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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