Latin word for human

Throughout all of the articles in my Hidden History of English series the common thread between all unexpected spellings, or words which seem not to follow English rules has been their status as borrowed words. (If you’re interested in some more hidden English history, check out my series here.)

The word “human” is no different here.

Humen is not the plural form of human because it comes into English through Latin. Words like man and woman become men and women because they are native English words. It’s similar to other -en plurals: oxen and children. Words borrowed into English don’t experience the same changes as native words do.

Human’s Latin Origins

The word “human” looks like it could be related to the word “woman”. Both of these words look like they have the same base word, -man, with a prefix attached to modify that base. While this is the case for woman the story behind human is completely different.

Human comes into English from the Latin word humanus. In Latin, this word also means human.

Humanus is a Latin word which is derived from the Latin noun humus. This might make you think about a delicious spread made from beans (that’s actually spelt with two Ms, hummus.) but in Latin this word meant “soil”.

Humanus is formed in Latin through the word humus and the addition of an affix -anus which takes a noun and creates a new noun associated with the base word. This results in humanus which means human but retains that association with the Earth or soil.

It basically means “being of the soil/earth”. The ancient Romans were an agricultural society and they clearly closely associated mankind with the fields they cultivated their livelihoods in.

Prior to English borrowing the word human, older forms of English simply used the word “man” to refer to both male and female human beings.

You can see this in the usage of Man to refer to all people, both men and women, and in the word “mankind”.

How is Woman Different?

Woman has an entirely different story from human.

As we mentioned above, in Old English the word to refer to all humans was mann (the direct ancestor to the modern English word “man”). This word did not refer at all to male human beings.

So in order to describe female people, Old English attached a prefix to the word mann to create a new gendered noun. The female form of the noun was wifmann (female + human).

The word for male humans in Old English was wer. This word is only preserved in modern English as a prefix that attaches to animal names to indicated a man who can transform into that animal, such as a werewolf.

Today, the word we use to refer to female humans is woman. This word is a direct ancestor of that Old English word wifmann.

Words that are borrowed into English through other languages did not experience the same type of language environment that lead to irregular word forms like: teeth, mice, or men.

When loanwords come into English, they transform using the regular rules. Speakers of all languages prefer simplicity. There is no reason why speakers will choose to attach irregular patterns on to new words. Irregularities exist in language when change happens. All irregular forms in English exist because of language evolution over hundreds of years, not because of conscious decision.

So when English speakers adopted the word “human”, they decided to give it a regular plural ending (humans).

Why is the Plural of Man “Men”?

Words like “man” and “woman” have irregular plural forms because they are words that have existed in English since its beginning.

The English language has over 1400 years of turbulent history. The Anglo-Saxons (the people who first spoke English) underwent a lot of trials throughout their history. They were subjugated and ruled over by many other tribes of people who spoke different languages from them throughout their history. This close contact with other cultures and languages deeply affected the English language.

Old English was a completely different form of English from what we speak today. It’s incomprehensible from modern English. If you’re interested in seeing an example of Old English, check out this article where I explore native English words.

The words with irregular plurals in modern English are examples of sound shifts that occurred earlier in the language’s history. Sounds change all the time in language as people begin to have slight variations in the way they pronounce words. Over time, this leads to a disconnect between older and newer words in a language. Given enough time (thousands of years) this is how new languages form.

I-Mutations

Mutations were a system of vowel changes that happened with Old English words when they became plural (and in other environments).

We can see the legacy of this change in word pairs like mouse/mice, tooth/teeth, foot/feet, goose/geese, and man/men.

This change is prevalent throughout the entire Germanic language family whose member languages also experience a similar vowel shift.

Conclusion

Ultimately, the different paths which words take to become new vocabulary in a language affect the way they transform in that language.

Human is not a native English word. This is a loanword from Latin, so the ways it changes are very different from native English words such as man or woman which have been with English since its beginning.

In Ancient Greek, diminutives are almost always neuter, regardless of the original noun’s gender. This leads to words like paidíon, «small child» (from país «child»), which are neuter even though they refer to people.

In modern German, the same thing happens: Mädchen «girl» (from Magd «young woman») is neuter rather than feminine.

But in Latin, I can’t think of any word for an individual human that’s not masculine (puer), feminine (femina), epicene(*) (homo), or common(*) (ruricola).

Does any such noun exist? That is, is there any noun that unambiguously refers to an individual human being, but is grammatically neuter?

(*) As Alex B puts it, epicene nouns are fixed as grammatically masculine or feminine, but can refer to a male or female person: a good person, man or woman, is a homo bonus. Common nouns are masculine when referring to a male person and feminine when referring to a female person: a good country-dweller is a ruricola bonus or a ruricola bona.

The word humanity is from the Latin humanitas for “human nature, kindness.” Humanity includes all the humans, but it can also refer to the kind feelings humans often have for each other. Awww.

What does Cera mean in Latin?

Etymology. From Old Portuguese cera (“wax”), from Latin cēra.

What is the meaning of the Latin word Manu?

A Greek/Latin root word meaning hand.

foolish

What does a moron mean?

1 : a foolish or stupid person …

What is the root word of morose?

morose (adj.) 1530s “gloomy, of a sour temper, sullen and austere,” from Latin morosus “morose, peevish, hypercritical, fastidious,” from mos (genitive moris) “habit, custom” (see moral (adj.)). In English, manners by itself means “(good) manners,” but here the implication in Latin is “(bad) manners.”

What is the word meaning of morose?

1 : having a sullen and gloomy disposition. 2 : marked by or expressive of gloom.

Which word defines morose best?

GLOOMY best defines “morose”.

What is the meaning of nostalgic?

: feeling or inspiring nostalgia: such as. a : longing for or thinking fondly of a past time or condition As we drove through the French countryside, I couldn’t help being not just nostalgic, but wistful, about how simple wine was 25 years ago.—

What is sardonic smile?

In medicine, it is defined as a smile-like facial expression induced by involuntary muscle spasms most often caused by toxins released by tetanus bacteria. However in folklore, the sardonic smile has a much more interesting past.

What is a sardonic grin?

The phrase “sardonic grin,” commonly used to describe a bitter or scornful smile, has its roots in a highly poisonous plant indigenous to the Mediterranean island Sardinia, according to new research.

How do you remember the word sardonic?

Mnemonics (Memory Aids) for sardonic Just remember the statement. “SARdarjiko DONI ne Comment kiya” .. Just remember the caps in the statement which gives the word and statement meaning! SARDONIC or SARCASTIC is to make curt or ironic remarks.

What is sardonic vs sarcastic?

Sarcastic and sardonic are similar, but not precisely the same, in meaning. Sarcastic: “marked by or given to using irony in order to mock or convey contempt.” Sardonic: “characterized by bitter or scornful derision; mocking; cynical; sneering: a sardonic grin.”

How do you use the word sardonic?

Sardonic sentence example. His smile was sardonic , yet his eyes held a glint of humor. His mouth twisted into a sardonic smile. As the film gets increasingly violent and intense, the director maintains a dry, sardonic tone that makes the gruesome bloodletting almost comical.

Can people be sardonic?

If you describe someone as sardonic, you mean their attitude to people or things is humorous but rather critical.

Is sardonic an insult?

Sardonic is an adjective describing dry, understated, and sort of mocking speech or writing—such as a clever remark that stings because it’s so accurate. While sardonic comments seem slightly hostile, they are supposed to be witty and humorous rather than deeply hurtful.

What is the difference between sardonic and cynical?

As adjectives the difference between cynical and sardonic is that cynical is of or relating to the belief that human actions are motivated only or primarily by base desires or selfishness while sardonic is scornfully mocking or cynical.

Can Apple tell me if my phone is hacked?

The app will also let you know if the device has been jailbroken, which is key if you’ve bought the phone used or have lent it to someone. Apple’s iOS operating system has generally been considered more secure than Google’s Android because Apple offers a tighter vetting process to approve apps.

Can you tell if someone has accessed your iPhone?

Check which devices are signed in with your Apple ID by going to Settings > [your name]. Sign in to appleid.apple.com with your Apple ID and review all the personal and security information in your account to see if there is any information that someone else has added.

Can someone hack my iPhone and read my texts?

Yes, it’s definitely possible for someone to spy on your text messages and it’s certainly something you should be aware of – this is a potential way for a hacker to gain a lot of private information about you – including accessing PIN codes sent by websites used to verify your identity (such as online banking).

How can I read my boyfriends text messages without touching his phone?

Minspy’s Android spy app is a message interception app specially designed for Android phones. It can give you all the data that your boyfriend is hiding in his Android phone, without his knowledge.

Can someone read my text messages from their phone?

You can read text messages on any phone, be it Android or iOS, without the knowledge of the target user. All you need is a phone spy service for it. There are so many apps that advertise phone spying solutions with top-notch services. However, an app that lives up to its claims is hard to find.

How can I spy on my husbands text messages?

7 Best Apps to Spy on Your Husband Text Messages

1. Part 1: Spyier Text Messages Spying App.
2. Part 2: Using Minspy to Spy on Husband’s Text Messages.
3. Part 3: Spyine- The Husband’s Text Messages Spying App.
4. Part 4: Spying on Husband’s Text Messages Using Spyic.
5. Part 5: Using Neatspy to Spy on Husband’s Text Messages.

How can I find out who my husband is texting?

How can you see who your husband is texting?

1. Ask him. This is the easiest approach of course, but it might not deliver honest results.
2. Go on his phone when he isn’t around.
3. Look at the phone bill.
4. Use software to spy on your husband’s phone.

Very wrong.

Homo means ‘man’ in Latin, and has the corresponding adjective humanus, whence English ‘human,’ through French.

If you like the nitty gritty, OED gives

Etymology: < Anglo-Norman humeigne (feminine), humane (feminine), Anglo-Norman and Middle French humain, humayn (French humain ) of or belonging to people (as opposed either to animals or to God) (1119 in Anglo-Norman), having human nature or characteristics (c1170), composed of people (c1174), benevolent (c1175), having people (as opposed to God) as its subject (1552 in letres humaines : compare humane letters n. at humane adj. Special uses) and its etymon classical Latin hūmānus of or belonging to people (as opposed either to animals or to divine beings), characteristic of people, civilized, cultured, cultivated, kindly, considerate, merciful, indulgent < the same base as homin- , homō homo n.1 + -ānus -an suffix, although the origin of the vocalism is unclear. Compare Old Occitan uman , Catalan humà (14th cent.), Spanish humano (c1200), Portuguese humano (13th cent.), Italian umano (13th cent.). With use as noun compare classical Latin hūmānus human being, hūmānum that which is human (uses as noun of masculine and neuter respectively of hūmānus , adjective), French humain human being (1340 in Middle French, usually in plural), human nature (a1630). Compare humane adj.

Human is certainly not derived from ‘Om,’ and I find no sources suggesting that they are cognate.

Lewis & Short (Latin dictionary) entry on homo gives

 comm. root in humus, Gr. χαμαί; cf. Germ. -gam in Bräutigam; O. H. Germ. gomo; Goth. guma; Old Engl. goom; Engl. groom; cf. also Gr. ἐπιχθόνιοι; Hebr. Adam, a human being, man.

Entry on humus gives

 kindr. with Sanscr. Xám, earth