English
inhuman
Inhuman comes from Latin inhūmānus, and goes back to hūmānus ‘human’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEhūmānus‘human’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEinhūmānus
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600inhumain
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500inhumayne
- Englishearliest quotation 1832inhuman
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEhūmānus‘human’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEinhūmānus
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600inhumain
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500inhumayne
- Englishearliest quotation 1832inhuman
Earliest quotation: 1832, David Herbert Lawrence, Lady Chatterley's Lover: “When he was out among men, seeking his own…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰmṓ ‘human’
through Latin hemō
through Latin homō ‘human’
homo, homage, hombre, ombre, omi, homunculus, humanely, hominin, 9 more
through Latin hūmānus ‘human’
Today it means
adj Of or pertaining to inhumanity and the indifferently cruel, sadistic or barbaric behavior it brings.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin hūmānus / inhuman