Where does “subhuman” come from?
Subhuman derives from English sub- combined with human, which comes from Middle French humain, from Latin homo meaning "man" or "human being," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European dʰéǵʰōm.
subhuman (English): Less than human; lacking characteristics of a...
Definitions
- Less than human; lacking characteristics of a...
Ancestry of “subhuman”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Human | The language supposedly spoken by humans |
| 2 | Middle English | humayne | human |
| 3 | Middle French | humain | human; human being; human |
| 4 | Old French | humain | — |
| 5 | Latin | hūmānus | human (of man, people) |
| 6 | Latin | homō | human, person, man |
| 7 | Old Latin | hemō | — |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | hemō | man |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵʰmṓ | earthling |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | dʰéǵʰōm | earth |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | -ōm | emphatic suffix or postpositive particle |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | -mi | — |