humanity

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /hjuːˈmæn.ə.ti/, US /hjuːˈmæn.ə.t̬i/^[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English humanite, borrowed from Old French humanité (“human nature; humankind; pity”),^[2][3][4] from Latin hūmānitās (“human nature, the human race; kindness, refinement”) (accusative hūmānitātem),^[2][3] from hūmānus (“human, humane”) (see human).^[2][3][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Kindness, courtesy, consideration for others: 1382 in the OED, about 1384 in the Wycliffe Bible in Barnhart, the late 14th century in Etymonline.^[6][3][2]

Semantic evolution

Human nature, the quality of being human, is from about 1400, about 1430 in the OED.^[2][6] The human race is from about 1450 in Barnhart and the mid-15th century in Etymonline, 1579 in the OED.^[3][2][6] Compassion for people and animals is from about 1386.^[6] The humanities are the study of literature, philosophy, history and languages, as opposed to the sciences,^[7][8] and in Scotland humanity long meant the Latin language and classics, as in a professor of humanity.^[9] Humanitarian meant one who affirms Christ's human nature in 1819 and a philanthropist from 1844, at first disparagingly.^[3]

Timeline

• 1382 – kindness, courtesy.^[6]
• c. 1430 – human nature.^[6]
• c. 1450 – the human race.^[3]
• 1819 – humanitarian.^[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. Human beings as a whole; the human race.
2. The quality of being human.
3. Kindness and compassion; humaneness.
4. (the humanities) The study of literature, philosophy, history and languages, as opposed to the sciences.

Word family

• antihumanity
• inhumanity
• humanitarian
• humanitarianism

Related words

• humane
• human
• humanism

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
8. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
9. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)