mankind

B1 Topic:Sports & Fitness

US /mænˈkaɪnd/ See IPA manual

Freq #4566

Meanings

1

noun
All human beings considered together; the human race.

New medical discoveries can benefit all of mankind.
2

noun
Men as a group, as opposed to women.

In older texts, "mankind" sometimes means men rather than people in general.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · all human beings considered... man humankind

2 noun · men as a group, as opposed... humankind

Opposites

womankind womenkind

Word family

Derived forms mankindlymankindness

Appears in

Proverbs (1)

See all

The proper study of mankind is Man

Etymology

From Middle English mankynde, alteration (due to kynde = “kind, nature, sort”) of earlier mankyn, from Old English mancynn. Equivalent to man + kin, and/or man + -kind. Cognate with Scots mankind, Middle High German mankünne, Danish mandkøn, Icelandic mannkyn (“mankind”). See also mankin.

*mon- Proto-Indo-European mankynde Middle English mancynn Old English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Sports & Fitness

External links

# mankind

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /mænˈkaɪnd/
**Frequency rank:** 4566

## Meanings
1. All human beings considered together; the human race.
2. Men as a group, as opposed to women.

## Examples
- New medical discoveries can benefit all of mankind.
- In older texts, "mankind" sometimes means men rather than people in general.

## Antonyms
- womankind
- womenkind

## Derived Forms
- mankindly
- mankindness

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *mon-
- Root: mankynde
- Root: mancynn

## Etymology
From Middle English mankynde, alteration (due to kynde = “kind, nature, sort”) of earlier mankyn, from Old English mancynn. Equivalent to man + kin, and/or man + -kind. Cognate with Scots mankind, Middle High German mankünne, Danish mandkøn, Icelandic mannkyn (“mankind”). See also mankin.

## AI Etymology
Mankind comes from Middle English mankynde, alteration (due to kynde = “kind, nature, sort”) of earlier mankyn, from Old English mancynn. Equivalent to man + kin, and/or man + -kind. Cognate with Scots mankind, Middle High German mankünne, Danish mandkøn, Icelandic mannkyn (“mankind”). In present-day English its meanings include all human beings considered together; the human race and men as a group, as opposed to women. The historical chain runs through *mon- (Proto-Indo-European), mankynde (Middle English), and mancynn (Old English). Related and derived forms include mankindly and mankindness.

## Topics
- Sports & Fitness

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