any member of the group consisting of all modern and extinct humans and great apes (including gorillas, chimpanzees, and orangutans) and all their immediate ancestors.
Origin of hominid
1885-1890
1885-90; < New LatinHominidae, equivalent to Latinhomin- (stem of homō) “human being, man” (see Homo) + -idae
1889, "family of mammals represented by man," from Modern Latin Hominidæ the biological family name, coined 1825 from Latin homo (genitive hominis) "man" (see homunculus). As an adjective from 1915.
(hŏm'ə-nĭd) Any of various primates of the family Hominidae, whose only living members are modern humans. Hominids are characterized by an upright gait, increased brain size and intelligence compared with other primates, a flattened face, and reduction in the size of the teeth and jaw. Besides the modern species Homo sapiens, hominids also include extinct species of Homo (such as H. erectus) and the extinct genus Australopithecus. In some classifications, the family Hominidae also includes the anthropoid apes.
