Etymograph

English

inhumane

Inhumane comes from Latin inhūmānus ‘inhuman’, from hūmānus ‘human’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰmṓ.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰmṓ1‘human’uncertain
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*hemō2uncertain
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEhemō2uncertain
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEhomō1‘human’uncertain
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEhūmānus3‘human’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEinhūmānus4‘inhuman’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1593inhumane4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin humanus
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin homo
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Latin inhumanus
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English inhumane
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1593, anonymous author, The Life and Death of Iacke Straw […]: “Herein thou haſt done good ſeruice to thy country:…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰmṓWiktionary, Latin humanus‘human’uncertain
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*hemōWiktionary, Latin homouncertain
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEhemōWiktionary, Latin homouncertain
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEhomōWiktionary, Latin humanus‘human’uncertain
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEhūmānusWiktionary, Latin inhumanus‘human’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEinhūmānusWiktionary, English inhumane‘inhuman’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1593inhumaneWiktionary, English inhumane. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1593, anonymous author, The Life and Death of Iacke Straw […]: “Herein thou haſt done good ſeruice to thy country:…”

The story

Originally a variant spelling and pronunciation of inhuman, ultimately from Latin inhūmānus; it appears to have died out 17c. but returned c. 1822, probably a reformation as a negative of humane from in- + humane.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰmṓ ‘human’

goon, 14 more

through Latin hemō

homophobia, 9 more

through Latin homō ‘human’

humanity, homo, homage, hombre, ombre, omi, humanoid, homunculus, hominin, humanely, 9 more

through Latin hūmānus ‘human’

human, 7 more

Today it means

adj —

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “inhumane”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin humanus, Latin homo, Latin inhumanus. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰmṓ / inhumane

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