Cannibal
The word “cannibal” was first used by Christopher Columbus to refer to the people then living in the West Indies, who he claimed ate human flesh — a detail he may have made up to spice up his stories to his fellow Spaniards. It also likely comes from his mishearing the word the “Carib” people used for themselves, which was Galibi, a word that meant “strong men” rather than “people eaters.”