mankind
Pronunciation
- IPA: /mænˈkaɪnd/[1]
Etymology
It is inherited from Middle English mankende, from man and kind (noun),[2][3] replacing earlier mankin, inherited from Old English mancynn, by substitution of kind for kin.[4][2]
Earliest recorded meaning
The human race, humans collectively: the early 13th century in Etymonline;[2] Hoad gives the 13th century and the OED's first quotation is from before 1300, in Cursor Mundi.[4][5]
Semantic evolution
The older mankin survived into the 14th century.[2] Human nature is also from before 1300.[5] The word was used occasionally in Middle English for male persons, but otherwise kept the original gender-neutral sense of man;[2] the male sex is a sense from 1526, stressed differently.[5] For the menfolk, menkind (late 14th century) and menskind (1590s) were also used, and womankind was represented by wifkin, Old English wīfcynn.[2]
Timeline
- early 13th century – man-kende, the human race.[2]
- before 1300 – human nature.[5]
- 1526 – the male sex.[5]
Modern meaning
Noun
- Human beings collectively; the human race; humanity.
- Men as opposed to women.
Related words
- man
- kind
- humankind
- womankind
- kin
Usage notes
In Northamptonshire a mankind-woman was a coarse, masculine woman.[6] A separate adjective mankind, furious or mad, from 1519, is a form of mankeen.[5]
References
- ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
- ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ 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)