Hominid
//ˈhɑ.mə.nɪd// adj, noun
adj, noun ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Any human, the only members of the family Hominidae as traditionally defined. archaic
- 2 a primate of the family Hominidae wordnet
- 3 Any primate of the taxonomic family Hominidae, which includes all the nonhuman great apes (chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans) as well as humans.
Adjective
- 1 Of the Hominidae. not-comparable
Adjective
- 1 characterizing the family Hominidae, which includes Homo sapiens as well as extinct species of manlike creatures wordnet
Example
More examples"Researchers have described and named a new species of hominid in South Africa that lived nearly two million years ago, during a still mysterious period spanning the emergence of modern human beings."
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dʰeǵʰ- Proto-Indo-European *-ōm Proto-Indo-European *dʰéǵʰōm Proto-Indo-European *-ō Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰmṓ Proto-Italic *hemō Latin hemō Latin homōlbor. Translingual Homo Ancient Greek -ίδης (-ídēs)bor. Latin -ideslbor. ▲ Ancient Greek -ειδής (-eidḗs)influ. Translingual -idae Translingual Hominidaelbor. English hominid Learned borrowing from translingual Hominidae.
Related phrases
More for "hominid"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.