human

/ˈ(h)jumən/

/ˈhjumən/

Other forms: humans

Unlike a pickle or a chipmunk, a human is a person. You can identify a human by the two legs it stands on, its upright stature, its high intelligence, and its speech that you'll understand if you're one, too.

Human was first recorded in the mid 13th century, and owes its existence to the Middle French humain “of or belonging to man.” That word, in turn, comes from the Latin humanus, thought to be a hybrid relative of homo, meaning “man,” and humus, meaning “earth.”

Definitions of human

1. noun

   any living or extinct member of the family Hominidae characterized by superior intelligence, articulate speech, and erect carriage
   synonyms: homo, human being, man

   types:

   human beings, human race, humanity, humankind, humans, man, mankind, world

   all of the living human inhabitants of the earth

   Homo erectus

   extinct species of primitive hominid with upright stature but small brain

   Homo soloensis

   extinct primitive hominid of late Pleistocene; Java; formerly Javanthropus

   Homo habilis

   extinct species of upright East African hominid having some advanced humanlike characteristics

   Homo sapiens

   the only surviving hominid; species to which modern man belongs; bipedal primate having language and ability to make and use complex tools; brain volume at least 1400 cc

   Homo sapiens neanderthalensis, Neandertal, Neandertal man, Neanderthal, Neanderthal man

   extinct robust human of Middle Paleolithic in Europe and western Asia

   Homo rhodesiensis, Rhodesian man

   a primitive hominid resembling Neanderthal man but living in Africa

   Java man, Trinil man

   fossil remains found in Java; formerly called Pithecanthropus erectus

   Peking man

   fossils found near Beijing, China; they were lost during World War II

   Solo man

   early man of late Pleistocene; skull resembles that of Neanderthal man but with smaller cranial capacity; found in Java

   Cro-magnon

   extinct human of Upper Paleolithic in Europe

   Boskop man

   possible early Homo sapiens represented by a cranium found in the Transvaal; formerly considered a separate species

   Homo sapiens sapiens, modern man

   subspecies of Homo sapiens; includes all modern races

   type of:

   hominid

   a primate of the family Hominidae
2. adjective

   characteristic of humanity
   “human nature”
3. adjective

   having human form or attributes as opposed to those of animals or divine beings
   “human beings”

   “the human body”

   “human kindness”

   “human frailty”

   synonyms:

   anthropoid, manlike

   resembling human beings

   anthropomorphic, anthropomorphous, humanlike

   suggesting human characteristics for animals or inanimate things

   earthborn

   springing from or born on the earth

   fallible, frail, imperfect, weak

   wanting in moral strength, courage, or will; having the attributes of man as opposed to e.g. divine beings

   hominal

   of humankind as a species

   hominian, hominid

   characterizing the family Hominidae, which includes Homo sapiens as well as extinct species of manlike creatures

   hominine

   characteristic of humankind

   antonyms:

   nonhuman

   not human; not belonging to or produced by or appropriate to human beings

   anthropoid, anthropoidal, apelike

   resembling apes

   bloodless

   devoid of human emotion or feeling

   dehumanised, dehumanized, unhuman

   divested of human qualities or attributes

   inhuman

   belonging to or resembling something nonhuman
4. adjective

   relating to a person
   “the experiment was conducted on 6 monkeys and 2 human subjects”