Homo
/ˈhoʊ.moʊ/noun
A Latin word meaning “man” or “human being,” and in biology the genus name for humans.
Did you know?Latin *homo* is traditionally linked to *humus* (“earth, ground”), so the oldest human self-name may literally frame us as creatures of the soil.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
“Likely a root meaning “earth, ground” behind Latin *humus* and possibly *homo* through later association.”
Latin
Latin
homo
“man, human being; person”
Late Latin
Latin
homō
“human being, person”
Old French
Old French
ome
“man, person”
Middle English
English
homo
“man; human being”
Modern English
English
homo
“a taxonomic genus including modern humans and closely related extinct species”