HUMAN'ITY, noun [Latin humanitas.] 1. The peculiar nature of man, by which he is distinguished from other beings. Thus Christ, by his incarnation, was invested with humanity 2. Mankind collectively; the human race. If he is able to untie those knots, he is able to teach all humanity It is a debt we owe to humanity 3. The kind feelings, dispositions and sympathies of man, by which he is distinguished from the lower orders of animals; kindness; benevolence; especially, a disposition to relieve persons in distress, and to treat with tenderness those who are helpless and defenseless; opposed to cruelty. 4. A disposition to treat the lower orders of animals with tenderness, or at least to give them no unnecessary pain. 5. The exercise of kindness; acts of tenderness. 6. Philology; grammatical studies. Humanities, in the plural, signifies grammar, rhetoric and poetry; for teaching which there are professors in the universities of Scotland.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI