humanly

Meanings

1. 1
   adv

   within the limits of human ability, effort, or endurance, especially in the phrase humanly possible

   Rescuers did everything humanly possible to reach the trapped miners.

2. 2
   adv

   by human beings or human means rather than by nature or another agency

   The museum displayed both naturally formed crystals and humanly manufactured replicas.

3. 3
   adv

   from the standpoint of ordinary human knowledge or judgment, especially in the phrase humanly speaking

   Humanly speaking, the expedition had little chance of returning before winter.

Formed in Middle English from human + the adverbial suffix -ly. Human comes through French from Latin humanus ("human; humane"). Humanly once overlapped more with humanely, but modern usage chiefly concerns human capability, human agency, or judgment from a human point of view.

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