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Origin and history of hominid

hominid(n.)

"member of the zoological family including man and the anthropoid apes," by 1889, from Modern Latin Hominidæ, the biological family name (1825), from Latin homo (genitive hominis) "man" (see homunculus) + -id.

As an adjective, "man-like" (of animals) from 1915. Related: Hominine "pertaining to the genus homo" (adj.), by 1883. An earlier adjective was hominiform "of human shape" (1670s).

also from 1889

Entries linking to hominid

hominiform(adj.)

"of human shape, human-like," 1670s, from stem of Latin homo (see homunculus) + -form.

homunculus(n.)

"tiny human being produced artificially," 1650s, from Latin homunculus (plural homunculi), literally "little person," with -culus, diminutive suffix, + homo (genitive hominis), which technically meant "male human," but it also was used with a sense "the human race, mankind;" while in Vulgar Latin it could be used as "one, anyone, they, people" and in logical and scholastic writing as "a human being, person."

This is conjectured to be from PIE *(dh)ghomon- (source also of Old Irish duine, Welsh dyn, Breton den "man;" Old Prussian smunents, smunets "man;" Old Lithuanian žmuo "person," Lithuanian žmogus "man," žmones "people," Gothic guma, Old High German gomo, Old Norse gume, Old English guma "man"). The literal sense is "earthling," from PIE root *dhghem- "earth" (compare human (adj.)). Other Latin diminutives from homo included homullus, homuncio.

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human
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 "earthl
pithecanthropus
genus of extinct primates, 1895, from Modern Latin, literally "monkey-man," from Greek pithēkos "ape" (see pitheco-) + anthrōpos "man" (see anthropo-). Coined 1868 by Haeckel as a name for a hypothetical link between apes and men (attested in English in this sense from 1876); app
man
"a featherless plantigrade biped mammal of the genus Homo" [Century Dictionary], Old English man, mann "human being, person (male or female); brave man, hero;" also "servant, vassal, adult male considered as under the control of another person," from Proto-Germanic *mann- (source
countenance
mid-13c., contenaunce, "behavior, bearing, conduct, manners;" early 14c., "outward appearance, looks," from Old French contenance "demeanor, bearing, conduct," from Latin continentia "restraint, abstemiousness, moderation," literally "way one contains oneself," from continentem,
stool pigeon
"police informer," 1859, American English; earlier "one who betrays the unwary (or is used to betray them)," 1821, earlier "a decoy bird" (1812), from a stool as the movable pole or perch to which a pigeon was fastened to lure wild birds. Perhaps a stool was the original device,
Balaclava
"woolen head covering," especially worn by soldiers, evidently named for village near Sebastopol, site of a battle Oct. 25, 1854, in the Crimean War. But the term (originally Balaclava helmet) does not appear before 1881 and seems to have come into widespread use in the Boer War.
carcass
"dead body of an animal," late 13c., from Anglo-French carcois, from or influenced by Old French charcois (Modern French carcasse) "trunk of a body, chest, carcass," and Anglo-Latin carcosium "dead body," all of unknown origin; original form uncertain. It may have been assimilate
lieutenant
late 14c., "one who takes the place of another," from Old French lieu tenant "substitute, deputy," literally "place holder" (14c.), from lieu "place" (see lieu) + tenant, present participle of tenir "to hold," from PIE root *ten- "to stretch." The notion is of a "substitute" for
favor
c. 1300, "attractiveness, beauty, charm" (archaic), from Old French favor "a favor; approval, praise; applause; partiality" (13c., Modern French faveur), from Latin favorem (nominative favor) "good will, inclination, partiality, support," coined by Cicero from stem of favere "to
insinuate
1520s, "to covertly and subtly introduce into the mind or heart" (trans.), from Latin insinuatus, past participle of insinuare "to thrust in, push in, make a way; creep in, intrude, bring in by windings and curvings, wind one's way into," from in- "in" (from PIE root *en "in") +

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