mankind

B1 Topic:People & Society

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

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

People & Society

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
- People & Society

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