mankind

American  

[man-kahynd, man-kahynd] / ˈmænˈkaɪnd, ˈmænˌkaɪnd /

noun

1. the human race; human beings collectively without reference to gender; humankind.

   It is no longer possible, if it ever was, for a single human brain to hold all of mankind's scientific knowledge.

2. men, as distinguished from women.

   Some still maintain that mankind is stronger, braver, smarter than womankind, but many others consider that absolute nonsense.

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mankind British  

/ ˌmænˈkaɪnd /

noun

1. human beings collectively; humanity

2. men collectively, as opposed to womankind

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Usage

Nowadays many people object to the use of mankind to refer to all human beings and use the term humankind instead

Gender

Is man gender-neutral? See man.

Other Word Forms

• premankind noun

Etymology

Origin of mankind

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English; man ( def. ) + kind ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

Slavery was the "most horrendous crime that took place in the history of mankind", Ghana's foreign minister has told the BBC ahead of a landmark vote at the UN General Assembly.

From BBC

It will contrast contemporary and historical pieces to profile the impact of technology on mankind.

From Barron's

It asserted that widespread famines and mass starvation would doom huge swaths of mankind because the world’s population was growing too rapidly.

From The Wall Street Journal

There is value—and I don’t mean financial value, I mean cultural, aesthetic and intellectual value—to preserving the achievements of mankind.

From The Wall Street Journal

Lovecraft's famous observation that "the oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown."

From Science Daily

Related Words

• humanity
• humankind
• society