prehuman

[ pree-hyoo-muhnor, often, -yoo- ]

adjective

1. preceding the appearance or existence of human beings:

   the prehuman ages.

2. of or relating to a human prototype.

noun

1. a prehuman animal.

Word History and Origins

Origin of prehuman¹

First recorded in 1835–45; pre- + human

Example Sentences

He named the prehuman species Australopithecus africanus — the southern ape of Africa.

From New York Times

Since its inception over a century ago, the conservation movement has been plagued by a conviction that "real" nature possesses a kind of "prehuman purity," they write.

From Salon

These demagogues basically tap into the very primitive prehuman programming in the limbic part of the brain.

From Salon

His greed is hard-wired, a genetic inheritance, a prehuman trait that this human has turned into a rage for power.

From New York Times

They may have revealed a prehuman baseline for many waterways, but they know change is a constant of geology.

From Science Magazine