The Word “Human”.pdf
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Ever been told that "human" secretly means "Hu-man" — colour plus man, a hidden mark of servitude?
It's a myth!
"Human" isn't two English words joined together; it comes into English whole, from a single Latin word — humanus — kin to homo (man) and humus (the earth). Its oldest sense is the earth-born mortal: the creature of the ground, set against the immortal gods.
There is no "colour" in it anywhere, and "hue" (colour) is an entirely separate word, of Germanic descent, that never once touched Latin.
The "Hu + man" split is folk etymology — the same error as claiming "history" comes from "his story" (it's really the Greek historia, "inquiry").
"Human" brands no one a servant or a slave. It means, quite simply, a living man or woman — a member of mankind. The word takes nothing from us..!
See the attached PDF for a fuller more in depth explanation.
It's a myth!
"Human" isn't two English words joined together; it comes into English whole, from a single Latin word — humanus — kin to homo (man) and humus (the earth). Its oldest sense is the earth-born mortal: the creature of the ground, set against the immortal gods.
There is no "colour" in it anywhere, and "hue" (colour) is an entirely separate word, of Germanic descent, that never once touched Latin.
The "Hu + man" split is folk etymology — the same error as claiming "history" comes from "his story" (it's really the Greek historia, "inquiry").
"Human" brands no one a servant or a slave. It means, quite simply, a living man or woman — a member of mankind. The word takes nothing from us..!
See the attached PDF for a fuller more in depth explanation.
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