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humanity

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Masters in Humanities
 at California State Univ Northridge Convenient Part-Time Schedule
 tsengcollege.csun.edu/humanities

hu⋅man⋅i⋅ty

  [hyoo-man-i-tee or, often, yoo-]
Use humanity in a Sentence
–noun, plural -ties.
1. all human beings collectively; the human race; humankind.
2. the quality or condition of being human; human nature.
3. the quality of being humane; kindness; benevolence.
4. the humanities,
a. the study of classical languages and classical literature.
b. the Latin and Greek classics as a field of study.
c. literature, philosophy, art, etc., as distinguished from the natural sciences.
d. the study of literature, philosophy, art, etc.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME humanite < L hūmānitās. See human, -ity

Synonyms:
3. sympathy, tenderness, goodwill.

Antonyms:
3. inhumanity, unkindness.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To humanity
hu·man·i·ty   (hyōō-mān'ĭ-tē)   
n.   pl. hu·man·i·ties
  1. Humans considered as a group; the human race.
  2. The condition or quality of being human.
  3. The quality of being humane; benevolence.
  4. A humane characteristic, attribute, or act.
  5. humanities
    1. The languages and literatures of ancient Greece and Rome; the classics.
    2. Those branches of knowledge, such as philosophy, literature, and art, that are concerned with human thought and culture; the liberal arts.

[Middle English humanite, from Old French, from Latin hūmānitās, from hūmānus, human; see human.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Humanity

Hu*man"i*ty\, n.; pl. Humanities. [L. humanitas: cf. F. humanit['e]. See Human.]

1. The quality of being human; the peculiar nature of man, by which he is distinguished from other beings.

2. Mankind collectively; the human race.

But hearing oftentimes The still, and music humanity. --Wordsworth.

It is a debt we owe to humanity. --S. S. Smith.

3. The quality of being humane; the kind feelings, dispositions, and sympathies of man; especially, a disposition to relieve persons or animals in distress, and to treat all creatures with kindness and tenderness. "The common offices of humanity and friendship." --Locke.

4. Mental cultivation; liberal education; instruction in classical and polite literature.

Polished with humanity and the study of witty science. --Holland.

5. pl. (With definite article) The branches of polite or elegant learning; as language, rhetoric, poetry, and the ancient classics; belles-letters.

Note: The cultivation of the languages, literature, history, and arch[ae]ology of Greece and Rome, were very commonly called liter[ae] humaniores, or, in English, the humanities, . . . by way of opposition to the liter[ae] divin[ae], or divinity. --G. P. Marsh.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : humanity
Spanish: humanidad,
German: die Menschlichkeit,
Japanese: 人間性
More Translations »

humanity 
c.1384, from O.Fr. humanité, from L. humanitatem (nom. humanitas) "human nature, humanity," from humanus (see human). Originally in Eng. "kindness, graciousness;" sense of "human race" first recorded c.1450. Humanities (L. literæ humaniores) were those branches of literature (ancient classics, rhetoric, poetry) which tended to humanize or refine. Humanitarian (1819) originally was "one who affirms the humanity of Christ (but denies His divinity);" first used 1844 in modern sense of "one who advocates or practices human action;" usually disparaging at first, with a suggestion of excess.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Masters in Humanities
 at California State Univ Northridge Convenient Part-Time Schedule
 tsengcollege.csun.edu/humanities