protohuman

[ proh-toh-hyoo-muhnor, often, -yoo- ]

adjective

1. of, relating to, or resembling extinct hominin populations that had some but not all the features of modern Homo sapiens.

noun

1. a protohuman animal.

protohuman

/ ˌprəʊtəʊˈhjuːmən /

noun

1. any of various prehistoric primates that resembled modern man

adjective

1. of or relating to any of these primates

protohuman

/ prō′tō-hyo̅o̅′mən /

1. Any of various extinct hominids or other extinct primates that were primitive predecessors or ancestors of humans.

Word History and Origins

Origin of protohuman¹

First recorded in 1905–10; proto- + human

Example Sentences

They agree, however, that explanation is needed of how a weak, vulnerable and not-very-successful protohuman later came to dominate the whole world, and reach outward into the universe.

From New York Times

“In several years it’ll just be a useless appendage, like the last protohuman with a tail,” Engadget wrote in its review of the most recent MacBook Pro.

From The Verge

Those with ultrahigh thresholds are those whom “we think of as belonging to somewhat different categories: protohuman like children, subhuman like the mad or suprahuman like saints.”

From New York Times

Pattison tells the wild tale of the discovery of Ardipithecus, a protohuman that lived 4.4 million years ago in Ethiopia.

From New York Times

It turns out that Denisovans were a distinct lineage of protohuman that split off from Neanderthals about 400,000 years ago.

From Washington Post