• Question: why are we called humans??????

    Asked by lionalmessi to Anil, Blanka, Cees, Emma, Mike on 27 Jun 2012.
    • Photo: Emma Trantham

      Emma Trantham answered on 27 Jun 2012:

      There is/was a latin word, homo which meant literally ‘man’. One form of homo (because Latin words change depending on who or what you are referring to) is humanus. Apparently this word passed down through to Medieval English where it was used as an adjective (a describing word). It was first used as a noun (so in the sense ‘I am a human’) in the 1500’s.

      I don’t know why the romans used homo for man though…

    • Photo: Blanka Sengerova

      Blanka Sengerova answered on 27 Jun 2012:

      I guess to distinguish us in the English language from other mammals and to be able to communicate the fact that we refer to our species rather than another species that we, for instance, hunt or use to help us farm fields.

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