Where does “human” come from?
Human comes from Middle English humain, from Middle French humain, from Latin homo meaning "man" or "human being," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European dʰéǵʰōm.
human (English): Of or belonging to the species "Homo sapiens" or...
Definitions
- Of or belonging to the species "Homo sapiens" or...
Ancestry of “human”, step by step
human traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle English humayne
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | humayne | human |
| 2 | Middle French | humain | human; human being; human |
| 3 | Old French | humain | — |
| 4 | Latin | hūmānus | human (of man, people) |
| 5 | Latin | homō | human, person, man |
| 6 | Old Latin | hemō | — |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | hemō | man |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵʰmṓ | earthling |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | dʰéǵʰōm | earth |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -ōm | emphatic suffix or postpositive particle |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | -mi | — |
via Middle English humain
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | humain | Alternative form of humayne |