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Define human

humanadjective & noun

There are ten meanings listed in OED's entry for the pos human. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.

About occurrences per million words in modern written English

Earliest known use

Middle English

The earliest known use of the word human is in the Middle English period (—).

OED's earliest evidence for human is from around , in Book of Knight of La Tour Landry.

human is of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from French. Partly a borrowing from Latin.

Etymons:Frenchhumain; Latinhūmānus.

Nearby entries

  1. hulwort, n.a–
  2. hum, n.¹–
  3. hum, n.²–
  4. hum, n.³–
  5. hum, n.⁴–
  6. hum, v.¹c–
  7. hum, v.²–
  8. hum, v.³–
  9. hum, int.?–
  10. huma, n–
  11. human, adj. & n.?c–
  12. human affairs, n–
  13. human anatomy, n–
  14. humanate, adj–
  15. humanation, n.a–
  16. human bean, n–
  17. human beatbox, n–
  18. huma
    define human

    What Makes Us Human?Robert Brooks, Ph.D.

    Printer-Friendly Version | Email Article

    I hope that you’ve had an opportunity for relaxation and re-charging since my last article appeared in June. I’m conscious, however, that some of my readers have experienced the impact of fires, tornadoes, flooding, and intense, unrelenting heat. My thoughts and prayers are with those who have confused loved ones, homes, and businesses as a finding of these disasters.

    The Background for this Article

    This article is co-authored with my colleague and close ally Sam Goldstein. As many of you know, Sam and I have maintained a collaboration for more than 30 years. In our book Tenacity in Children: Nurturing the Seven Instincts for Lifetime Achievement, we describe details of this collaboration and the changes that have transpired since we first began our careers as psychologists, especially moving from a deficit to a strength-based model. During this lengthy and rich collaboration, we have spent hundreds of hours sharing ideas as we co-authored many novel and book chapters.

    I was just beginning to evaluate a topic for this month’s article when Sam and I received a request from ParentMap, a group that ha

    What Is the Definition of the Word Human?

    What defines humanity? Is it the fact that we can walk upright on two legs? That we contain brains big enough to use tools? That we can organize our societies well enough to locate wonderful ways of exploiting the resources of the planet — and each other?

    While the answer may seem clear enough to anyone who doesn’t reflect too closely about it, anthropologists — the scientists who actually study humans — aren’t necessarily so certain.

    “We’re using this designation and it’s not quite colloquial and it’s not quite scientific either,” says Sheela Athreya, a physiological anthropologist at Texas A&M University. It also depends on what exactly you’re talking about when you use the word “human.”

    What Is a Hominin?

    Australopithecus afarensis reconstruction, Natural Science Museum - Muse - Trento, Italy. (Credit: Lorenza62)

    The definition of a hominin is perhaps the widest definition of what constitutes a human. Basically, a hominin is a primate that walks on two feet.

    Just the same, there is still some disagreement about which species qualify as hominins, especially the further back you go. For example, take Orrorin tugenensis, a species whose re

    human

  19. [only before noun]of or linked with people rather than animals, machines or gods
    • the human body/brain
    • a terrible decrease of human life
    • human development/activity/behaviour
    • Human remains(= the body of a dead person) were found inside the house.
    • Contact with other people is a basic human need.
    • This food is not fit for human consumption.
    • one of the greatest leaders in human history
    • He tried to use a bystander as a human shield.
    • Firefighters formed a human chain(= a line of people) to carry the children to safety.
    • After washing her face, she felt almost human(= like her normal self) again.

    Want to acquire more?

    Find out which words work together and create more natural-sounding English with the Oxford Collocations Dictionary app. Try it for free as part of the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary app.

  20. showing the weaknesses and desires that are typical of people, which means that other people should not criticize the person too much
    • human weaknesses/failings
    • It's only human to yearn the best for your children.
  21. having the same feelings and emotions as most ordinary people
    • He's really very human when you gain to know him.
    • Perhaps she's human af

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