Re: What do all of the latin human taxonomic units mean?

Date: Thu Oct 30 07:51:28 2008
Posted By: Marie-Helene Boyer-Grzesiak, History of Science, Mathematics and Technology, Anthropology
Area of science: Evolution
ID: 1222501382.Ev

Message:


Hi there!

You're on the right track.  

The root word you're looking for is indeed Latin - "homo" (root homin-)
meaning "man".  Hominidae (plural), modern Latin, late 19th century, is
where we get the English word "hominid", which describes a primate of a
family (hominidae) that includes humans and their fossil ancestors.  

Marie-Helene B. Grzesiak
Mad Scientist

[Moderator's Note: the family Hominidae has been expanded recently to include 
chimps and gorillas, and the new tribe Hominini, within Hominidae, has been 
introduced to describe humans and their fossil ancestors.]

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