LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininethird declension

hūmānitās

hūmānitās f (genitive hūmānitātis)

Meaning

  1. humaneness, humane conduct, philanthropy, benevolence, kindliness
    Caesar, quī apud tē audent dīcere, magnitūdinem tuam ignōrant; quī non audent, hūmānitātem.Caesar, those who dare to speak before you do not know your greatness; those who do not dare, do not know your benevolence.c. 37 CE – 41 CE, Seneca Maior, Controversiae 6.3
  2. courtesy, politeness, good manners, social grace
    tantam in Crasso humanitatem fuisse, ut, cum lauti accubuissent, tolleretur omnis illa superioris tristitia sermonis.Such were the social graces of Crassus that, after they bathed and reclined (to eat), all that harshness of the earlier discussion was banished.55 BCE, Cicero, De oratore 1.27
  3. refinement, culturedness, mental cultivation, liberal education
  4. culture, civilization, especially as contrasted with barbarism
    Hōrum omnium fortissimī sunt Belgae, proptereā quod ā cultū atque hūmānitāte prōvinciae longissimē absunt.Of all these (Gauls) the Belgae are the bravest, because they are farthest removed from the culture and civilization of the Province.c. 52 BCE, Julius Caesar, Commentarii de bello Gallico 1.1.1
  5. Medieval Latinhumankind, the human race
    vir Dei parentum sollicitudinem et vexatae humanitatis labores miserescensthe man of God, pitying the anxiety of the parents and the sufferings of the tormented human racec. 730 CE Felix, The Life of St. Guthlac 41

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

animus mītis et urbānus
hūmānitās -ātis (f) — in Epistulae, ch. 7

Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms

Humanitas · Comitas · Facilitas · Civilitas

Humanitas is a virtue of universal extent, which, like the mental cultivation, proceeding from intelligence, ennobles the whole man in mind and heart, and gives to his nature mildness and philanthropy, as a principle; in opp. to feritas; comitas (from κόσμος) is a moral virtue, which, like affability, without respect to higher rank in society, treats every man as a man; facilitas, a social virtue, which, like complaisance, by forbearance and meeting the views of others, facilitates mutual intercourse in life, and makes it pleasant; civilitas, a political virtue, which, like the republican feeling of a prince, makes the specific difference between a ruler and his people unfelt, and treats his subjects as fellow-citizens. Nep. Milt. 8. In Miltiade erat quum summa humanitas, tum mira comitas, ut nemo tam humilis esset cui non ad eum aditus pateret. (v. 6.)

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativehūmānitāshūmānitātēs
genitivehūmānitātishūmānitātum
dativehūmānitātīhūmānitātibus
accusativehūmānitātemhūmānitātēs
ablativehūmānitātehūmānitātibus
vocativehūmānitāshūmānitātēs

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

omnis humanitatis expertem esse
to be absolutely wanting in sympathy.
omnem humanitatis sensum amisisse
to be quite insensible of all feelings to humanity.
litterae officii or humanitatis plenae
a most courteous letter.
omnis cultus et humanitatis expertem esse
to be quite uncivilised.
aliquem ad humanitatem informare or instituere
to teach a person refinement.
omnem humanitatem exuisse, abiecisse (Lig. 5. 14)
to be quite insensible to all feelings of humanity.
omnem humanitatem ex animo exstirpare (Amic. 13. 48)
to stifle, repress all humane sentiments in one's mind.
ab omni cultu et humanitate longe abesse (B. G. 1. 1. 3)
to be quite uncivilised.
1 more phrases
artes, quibus aetas puerilis ad humanitatem informari solet
the usual subjects taught to boys.

hūmānĭtas, ātis, f. humanus,
I. human nature, humanity, in a good sense; the qualities, feelings, and inclinations of mankind.
I. In gen. (for the most part only in Cic.): magna est vis humanitatis, multum valet communio sanguinis, Cic. Rosc. Am. 22, 63: naturas hominum vimque omnem humanitatis penitus perspicere, id. de Or. 1, 12, 53: humanitatis societas, id. Rep. 2, 26: communis humanitatis jus, id. Fl. 11, 24; cf.: communis humanitatis causa, id. Quint. 16, 51: peterem errato veniam ex humanitate communi, id. Sull. 23, 64: humanitatis prima species, id. Tusc. 4, 14, 32: at natura certe dedit, ut humanitatis non parum haberes, id. Rosc. Am. 16, 46: humanitatem tuam amoremque in tuos reditus celeritas declarabit, id. Att. 4, 15, 2: nec potuisse (te) non commoveri (viri amicissimi morte) nec fuisse id humanitatis tuae, id. Lael. 2, 8: fac, id quod est humanitatis tuae, ne quid aliud cures hoc tempore, nisi ut quam commodissime convalescas, which you owe to yourself as a man, id. Fam. 16, 11, 1: assiduitate molestiarum sensum omnem humanitatis ex animis amittimus, id. Rosc. Am. 53, 154 fin.; cf.: jam ad ista obduruimus et humanitatem omnem exuimus, id. Att. 13, 2, 1; id. Lig. 5, 14: nisi ex ejus animo exstirpatam humanitatem arbitramur, id. Lael. 13, 48: age vero, quid esse potest in otio aut jucundius aut magis proprium humanitatis quam sermo facetus ac nulla in re rudis? id. de Or. 1, 8, 32: homines quidem pereunt: ipsa humanitas, ad quam homo effingitur, permanet, Sen. Ep. 65.—
B. Transf., concr., i. q. humanum genus, the human race, mankind (very rare; mostly post-class.): ista in figura hominis feritas a communi tamquam humanitatis corpore segreganda est, Cic. Off. 3, 6, 32: humanitatem hoc loco dicimus omne hominum genus, Hier. Ep. 147: timorem omnem, quo humanitas regitur, sustulerunt, Min. Fel. Oct. 8; App. Dogm. Plat. 1, p. 11; id. Trism. p. 288.
II. In partic.
A. Humane or gentle conduct towards others, humanity, philanthropy, gentleness, kindness, politeness (syn.: comitas, facilitas, mansuetudo, clementia, opp. severitas; very freq. and class.): quemquamne existimas Catone proavo tuo commodiorem, communiorem, moderatiorem fuisse ad omnem rationem humanitatis? ... Sed si illius comitatem et facilitatem tuae gravitati severitatique asperseris, etc., Cic. Mur. 31, 66; cf.: pro tua facilitate et humanitate, id. Fam. 13, 24, 2: difficillimam illam societatem gravitatis cum humanitate, id. Leg. 3, 1, 1: ut summa severitas summa cum humanitate jungatur, id. Fam. 12, 27: ad humanitatem atque mansuetudinem revocavit animos hominum, studiis bellandi jam immanes ac feros, id. Rep. 2, 14; cf. id. Sull. 33, 92; id. de Imp. Pomp. 14, 42; cf. also: omnia plena clementiae, mansuetudinis, humanitatis, id. Q. Fr. 1, 1, 8 fin.; and: pro sua clementia atque humanitate, Hirt. B. G. 8, 21, 2; Caes. B. C. 3, 20, 2: tantaque poena (eos) afficiamus, quantam aequitas humanitasque patitur, Cic. Off. 2, 5, 18: singularis humanitas suavissimique mores, id. Att. 16, 16, A, 6: Caesaris summa erga nos humanitas, id. Fam. 4, 13, 2; cf.: amorem erga me, humanitatem suavitatemque desidero, id. Att. 15, 1, A, 1: humanitas vetat superbum esse adversus socios, Sen. Ep. 88 med.: humanitatis praecipua pars est, honestissimum quemque complecti, etc., Plin. Ep. 9, 5, 1: illa vero vitiosissima, quae jam humanitas vocatur, invicem qualiacumque laudandi, Quint. 2, 2, 10.—
B. Mental cultivation befitting a man, liberal education, good breeding, elegance of manners or language, refinement (cf. on this signif. Gell. 13, 16; syn.: doctrina, litterae, eruditio; freq. and class.): homo non communium litterarum et politioris humanitatis expers, Cic. de Or. 2, 17, 72: esse politum propriis humanitatis artibus, id. Rep. 1, 17; cf.: humanitate politiores, id. de Or. 2, 37, 154: in omni recto studio atque humanitate versari, id. ib. 1, 60, 256: sine ulla bona arte, sine humanitate, sine ingenio, sine litteris, Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 44, § 98: doctrinae studium atque humanitatis, id. Cael. 10, 24; cf.: propter humanitatem atque doctrinam Anco regi familiaris, id. Rep. 2, 20: in omni genere sermonis, in omni parte humanitatis dixerim oratorem perfectum esse debere, id. de Or. 1, 16, 71; cf. id. ib. 1, 9, 35 (Ellendt ad loc.): orator inops quidam humanitatis atque inurbanus, id. ib. 2, 10, 40: ea quae multum ab humanitate discrepant, ut si quis in foro cantet, good manners, id. Off. 1, 40, 145: Socratem opinor in hac ironia dissimulantiaque longe lepore et humanitate omnibus praestisse, polished language, id. de Or. 2, 67, 270: (epistulae) humanitatis sparsae sale, id. Att. 1, 13, 1: alicujus litteras aut humanitatem adamare, id. Rosc. Am. 41, 121: litteris, et humanitate alicujus delectari, Cic. Verr. 2, 3, 4, § 8.

Origins

From hūmānus (“human”) + -tās; coined by Cicero as a calque of Ancient Greek φιλανθρωπία (philanthrōpía).

Descendants
  • Catalanhumanitat
  • GermanHumanität
  • Italianumanità
  • Occitanumanitat
  • Portuguesehumanidadefrom Old Galician-Portuguese humanidade
  • Spanishhumanidad
  • Malteseumanitàfrom Italian umanità
  • Old Frenchhumanité
  • Galicianhumanidadefrom Old Galician-Portuguese humanidade

Quick answers

What does hūmānitās mean in Latin?
hūmānitās, a noun, means “humaneness, humane conduct, philanthropy, benevolence, kindliness; courtesy, politeness, good manners, social grace; refinement, culturedness, mental cultivation, liberal education”.
What is the genitive of hūmānitās?
The genitive singular is hūmānitātis. hūmānitās is feminine, third declension.