humanus

See also: humānus

Latin

Etymology

Unknown. The term is probably connected to homō (“human”), itself from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰmṓ. Perhaps from *hūm (“earth”) (see humus) -ānus. The form *hūm could possibly derive from earlier *hōm, with a phonological development similar to Latin fūr, from *fōr. However, De Vaan suggests that—in the example of fūr—the labial consonant may have conditioned the sound shift. Moreover, De Vaan suggests that a word-final nasal would be dropped following *ō, implying that the final *m in *hōm would have to be restored on the model of the oblique cases (i.e. an accusative singular form *hōmem). Alternatively, the term has been connected to Old Irish doíni and derived from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰdʰoym-, though De Vaan suggests that the source of *-oy- in this form is uncertain.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [huːˈmaː.nʊs]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [uˈmaː.nus]

Adjective

hūmānus (feminine hūmāna, neuter hūmānum, comparative hūmānior, superlative hūmānissimus, adverb hūmānē or hūmāniter); first/second-declension adjective

1. human (of man, people)
   • Heauton Timorumenos (“The Self-Tormentor”) by Publius Terentius Afer

     Homo sum, humani nihil a me alienum puto.

     I am a man, I consider nothing that is human alien to me.

2. humane, kind, philanthropic
   • 166 BCE, Publius Terentius Afer, Andria 113–114:

     Haec ego putābam esse omnia hūmānī ingenī
     mānsuētīque animī officia.

     All these I considered to be the duties of a humane mind and a gentle spirit.

3. cultured, refined

Declension

First/second-declension adjective.

	singular				plural
	masculine	feminine	neuter		masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	hūmānus	hūmāna	hūmānum		hūmānī	hūmānae	hūmāna
genitive	hūmānī	hūmānae	hūmānī		hūmānōrum	hūmānārum	hūmānōrum
dative	hūmānō	hūmānae	hūmānō		hūmānīs
accusative	hūmānum	hūmānam	hūmānum		hūmānōs	hūmānās	hūmāna
ablative	hūmānō	hūmānā	hūmānō		hūmānīs
vocative	hūmāne	hūmāna	hūmānum		hūmānī	hūmānae	hūmāna

Derived terms

• hūmāna
• hūmānē
• hūmānitas
• hūmāniter
• hūmānitus
• hūmānō
• inhūmānus

Descendants

• → Asturian: humanu
• → Catalan: humà
• → Dutch: humaan
• → Old French: humain
  • Middle French: humain
    • French: humain
  • → Middle English: humayne (adjective)
    • English: humane
      • ⇒ English: human
• → Galician: humano
• → Italian: umano
• → Ladin: uman
• → Mirandese: houmano
• → Occitan: uman
• → Piedmontese: uman
• → Portuguese: humano
• → Romanian: uman
• → Romansh: uman
• → Spanish: humano

Noun

hūmānus m (genitive hūmānī); second declension

1. (usually in the plural) a human, mortal

Declension

Second-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	hūmānus	hūmānī
genitive	hūmānī	hūmānōrum
dative	hūmānō	hūmānīs
accusative	hūmānum	hūmānōs
ablative	hūmānō	hūmānīs
vocative	hūmāne	hūmānī

References

• “humanus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “humanus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “humanus”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894), Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • human life: res humanae or simply res
    
  • that is the way of the world; such is life: haec est rerum humanarum condicio
    
  • to despise earthly things: res externas or humanas despicere
    
  • to feel superior to the affairs of life: res humanas infra se positas arbitrari
    
  • to civilise men, a nation: homines, gentem a fera agrestique vita ad humanum cultum civilemque deducere (De Or. 1. 8. 33)
    
  • heavenly things; earthly things: supera et caelestia; humana et citerioria
    
• humanus in Ramminger, Johann (16 July 2016 (last accessed)), Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700‎^[2], pre-publication website, 2005-2016