humanity
//hjuˈmænɪti//
Forms
- Plural
- humanities
Definitions
1.Humankind; human beings as a group.
- At last the concourse is relatively clear of humanity and the task of clearing up can begin.
- “The internet”, Eric Schmidt, former chairman of Google, famously observed, “is the first thing that humanity has built that humanity doesn’t understand, the largest experiment in anarchy that we have ever had.”
2.The human condition or nature.
3.The quality of being benevolent; humane traits of character; humane qualities or aspects.
- Killing Animals Humanely. Humanity requires that animals be killed in the quickest and least painful manner. The following circular has been sent by our American Humane Education Society very widely through the country.
- Think of that; by that sweet girl that old man had a child: hold ye then there can be any utter, hopeless harm in Ahab? No, no, my lad; stricken, blasted, if he be, Ahab has his humanities!
4.Any academic subject belonging to the humanities.
- Philosophy is a humanity while psychology is a science.
Frequency
Overall
Uncommon· #3146
By learning goal
- Everyday conversation
- Rare
- General reading & writing
- Uncommon
- Academic
- Rare
- Literature
- Rare
Related words
Word family
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English humanyte, humanite, humanitye, from Old French humanité, from Latin hūmānitās.
By surface analysis, human or humane + -ity.
Partly displaced mankind, from Old English mancynn (literally “human race”).