hominid

or hom·o·nid

[ hom-uh-nid ]

noun

, Anthropology, Zoology.

1. any member of the family Hominidae, consisting of all modern and extinct humans and great apes (including gorillas, chimpanzees, and orangutans), and all their immediate ancestors. hominin.

hominid

/ ˈhɒmɪnɪd /

noun

1. any primate of the family Hominidae, which includes modern man ( Homo sapiens ) and the extinct precursors of man

adjective

1. of, relating to, or belonging to the Hominidae

hominid

/ hŏm′ə-nĭd /

1. Any of various primates of the family Hominidae, whose only living members are modern humans. Hominids are characterized by an upright gait, increased brain size and intelligence compared with other primates, a flattened face, and reduction in the size of the teeth and jaw. Besides the modern species Homo sapiens, hominids also include extinct species of Homo (such as H. erectus ) and the extinct genus Australopithecus. In some classifications, the family Hominidae also includes the anthropoid apes.

Word History and Origins

Origin of hominid¹

1885–90; < New Latin Hominidae, equivalent to Latin homin- (stem of homō ) “human being, man” ( Homo ) + -idae ( def )

Word History and Origins

Origin of hominid¹

C19: via New Latin from Latin homo man + -id ²

Example Sentences

That makes the older chimp lineage a closer relative of early hominids.

From Science News

These new models of how ancient thumbs worked underscore the slowness of hominid hand evolution, says paleoanthropologist Matthew Tocheri of Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Canada.

From Science News

Widely scattered hominid groups began to trade with one another to obtain suitable toolmaking rock and other resources.

From Science News

Around that time, hominids at a site called Olorgesailie in what’s now Kenya transformed their culture.

From Science News

These changes heralded a series of booms and busts in the resources hominids needed to survive, Potts and his colleagues report October 21 in Science Advances.

From Science News

Fossils, skulls, and hominid exhibitions throughout the caves are quite something.

From The Daily Beast

Last Sunday, 60 Minutes aired a remarkable story about the discovery of two hominid fossils in South Africa.

From The Daily Beast

If so, it is certainly not chimpanzee nor close to the Apes, but decidedly hominid.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

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