From Late Middle English humayne, humain, from Middle French humain, from Old French humain, umain, from Latin hūmānus, from homo, with unclear ū.

• enPR: hyo͞oʹmən, IPA: /ˈhjuː.mən/, [ˈçju̟mən], [ˈçju̟mn̩]
• (New York City, some other dialects) IPA: /ˈju.mən/

human

1. (notcomp) Of or belonging to the species Homo sapiens or its closest relatives.
   • c. 1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC ↗; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire, London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act II, scene vi ↗:

     Some powers diuine, or els infernall, mixt / Their angry ſeedes at his conception: / For he was neuer ſprong of humaine race, / Since with the ſpirit of his fearefull pride, / He dares so doubtleſly reſolue of rule.

   • 1660, [Richard Allestree], “Sect[ion] V. Of the Second Advantage, Wealth.”, in The Gentlemans Calling, London: […] T[imothy] Garthwait […], →OCLC ↗, page 83 ↗:

     [N]o attempt is made to call in God to their reſcue, as if he vvere an idle unconcern'd ſpectator of humane affairs, or ſo inconſiderable an ally, as not to be vvorth the care of engaging him on their ſide.

2. (comparable) Having the nature or attributes of a human being.

   To err is human; to forgive, divine.

   • 1921, Ben Travers, chapter 1, in A Cuckoo in the Nest, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 1925, →OCLC ↗:

     She was like a Beardsley Salome, he had said. And indeed she had the narrow eyes and the high cheekbone of that creature, and as nearly the sinuosity as is compatible with human symmetry.

   • 1963, Margery Allingham, “Eye Witness”, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC ↗, page 249 ↗:

     The story struck the depressingly familiar note with which true stories ring in the tried ears of experienced policemen. No one queried it. It was in the classic pattern of human weakness, mean and embarrassing and sad.

   • 2011 August 17, Holman W. Jenkins, Jr., The Many Wars of Google: Handset makers will learn to live with their new ‘frenemy’ ↗, Business World, Wall Street Journal,

     Google wouldn't be human if it didn't want some of this loot, which buying Motorola would enable it to grab.

• mannish, mennish (now rare)

• inhuman
• nonhuman
• unhuman

• humane
• humanitarian
• humanitarianism
• humanity

• French: humain
• German: menschlich
• Italian: umano
• Portuguese: humano
• Russian: челове́ческий
• Spanish: humano

• French: humain
• German: menschlich
• Italian: umano
• Portuguese: humano
• Russian: челове́ческий
• Spanish: humano

human (plural humans)

1. (narrowly, biology) The tallest, most abundant and most intelligent of the primates; Homo sapiens.

   Synonyms: human being, man, Thesaurus:person

   Humans share common ancestors with other apes.

   1. (fantasy, scifi, mythology) A human as contrasted from superficially similar but typically more powerful humanoid creatures; a member of the human race.
   2. (fantasy, scifi) A term of address for any human, often implying the listener's species is their only noteworthy trait.
2. (broadly) Any hominid of the genus Homo.

human (humans, present participle humaning; simple past and past participle humaned)

1. (rare) To behave as or become, or to cause to behave as or become, a human.

1. Surname.
2. (humorous) The language supposedly spoken by humans