Homo sapiens

Homo sapiens (pronounced /ˈhoʊmoʊ ˈseɪpiənz/) is the scientific name for the human species. Homo is the human genus, which also includes Neanderthals and many other extinct species of hominid; H. sapiens is the only surviving species of the genus Homo. Modern humans are the subspecies Homo sapiens sapiens, which differentiates them from what has been argued to be their direct ancestor, Homo sapiens idaltu.

Etymology

The binomial name Homo sapiens was coined by Carl Linnaeus (1758). The Latin noun homō (genitive hominis) means "human being", while the participle sapiens means "wise" or "sapient". Together, Homo sapiens means "wise man" or "knowing man".

Related Terms

Hominid: A member of the family Hominidae, which includes all great apes including humans.
Genus: A rank in the biological classification (taxonomy) that groups closely related species together. In this case, Homo.
Species: The lowest and most strict level of the biological classification system.
Neanderthals: An extinct species or subspecies of archaic humans who lived in Eurasia until about 40,000 years ago.
Homo sapiens idaltu: An extinct subspecies of Homo sapiens that lived almost 160,000 years ago in Pleistocene Africa.
Carl Linnaeus: A Swedish botanist, zoologist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming organisms.