Are "man" and "human" the same word? What does the prefix "hu-" mean? What's the difference between "man" and "human"?
human
late Middle English humaine, from Old French humain(e ), from Latin humanus, from homo ‘man, human being’. The present spelling became usual in the 18th century
The whole idea was to go in order... The middle question is the most important.
Looked it up, "hu" apparently isn't a prefix and the words "human" and "man" are simply separate entirely and have (very) slightly different meanings.
Alright fine. I shouldn't have said anything about a prefix. Who is HU? What does it mean to be HU-man?
human (adj.)
mid-15c., humain, humaigne, "human," from Old French humain, umain (adj.) "of or belonging to man" (12c.), from Latin humanus "of man, human," also "humane, philanthropic, kind, gentle, polite; learned, refined, civilized." This is in part from PIE *(dh)ghomon-, literally "earthling, earthly being," as opposed to the gods (from root *dhghem- "earth"), but there is no settled explanation of the sound changes involved. Compare Hebrew adam "man," from adamah "ground." Cognate with Old Lithuanian žmuo (accusative žmuni) "man, male person."
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