humane — mid 15c., variant of HUMAN (Cf. human) (Cf. german/germane, urban/urbane), used interchangeably with it until early 18c., by which time it had become a distinct word with sense of having qualities befitting human beings. But inhuman still can be… … Etymology dictionary
Humane — Hu*mane , a. [L. humanus: cf. F. humain. See {Human}.] 1. Pertaining to man; human. [Obs.] Jer. Taylor. [1913 Webster] 2. Having the feelings and inclinations creditable to man; having a disposition to treat other human beings or animals with… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
humane — I adjective altruistic, beneficent, benevolent, benign, bounteous, brotherly, charitable, clemens, clement, considerate, decent, fraternal, generous, helpful, hospitable, humanitarian, humanus, kind, kindhearted, kindly, merciful, misericors,… … Law dictionary
humane — [hyo͞o mān′, yo͞omān′] adj. [earlier var. of HUMAN, now usually assoc. directly with L humanus] 1. having what are considered the best qualities of human beings; kind, tender, merciful, sympathetic, etc. 2. civilizing; humanizing [humane… … English World dictionary
humane — ● humane nom féminin Caractère d imprimerie dont les formes s inspirent des lettres romaines, rénovées à la Renaissance. (Classification Vox [1954].) … Encyclopédie Universelle
humane — humanitarian, *charitable, benevolent, philanthropic, eleemosynary, altruistic Analogous words: compassionate, *tender, warmhearted: gentle, lenient, mild (see SOFT): clement, merciful, tolerant, *forbearing: kindly, *kind, benign, benignant… … New Dictionary of Synonyms
humane — [adj] kind, compassionate accommodating, altruistic, amiable, approachable, benevolent, benign, benignant, broad minded, charitable, clement, considerate, cordial, democratic, forbearing, forgiving, friendly, generous, genial, gentle, good, good… … New thesaurus
humane — ► ADJECTIVE 1) having or showing compassion or benevolence. 2) formal (of a branch of learning) intended to civilize. DERIVATIVES humanely adverb humaneness noun … English terms dictionary
humane — human, humane, humanitarian 1. The notion that human should only be used as an adjective and that human being should be used for the noun is found in some older usage books (though not Fowler, 1926) but is not supported by the weight of usage.… … Modern English usage
humane — [[t]hju͟ːme͟ɪn[/t]] 1) ADJ GRADED Humane people act in a kind, sympathetic way towards other people and animals, and try to do them as little harm as possible. In the mid nineteenth century, Dorothea Dix began to campaign for humane treatment of… … English dictionary
