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Glite Dictionary
Homo habilis

Homo habilis

1 9.9
A kind of early human from East Africa that lived about 2 million years ago and used simple stone tools
  • noun
  • /ˈhoʊmoʊ ˈhæbɪlɪs/
  • Specialized
translation icon : Homo habilis
  • The Homo habilis is considered one of the earliest members of the genus Homo.

Examples

  • Compared to earlier hominids, Homo habilis had a larger brain capacity.

  • Scientists believe Homo habilis used simple tools for various tasks.

  • The discovery of Homo habilis fossils shed new light on human evolution.

  • Did Homo habilis use tools effectively?

  • The discovery of Homo habilis fossils in East Africa has provided crucial insights into the development of early human species.

  • Scientists believe that Homo habilis lived in small groups and relied on tools to gather food and prepare meals.

  • Homo habilis was known for its ability to create simple stone tools, marking a significant step in human evolution.

Surface Forms

Homo habilis singular
Homo habilis plural

Morphology

Homo + habilis

The element 'Homo' clearly signals the human genus so a learner who knows the parts could infer this is a species name referring to a kind of human, but 'habilis' is a Latin adjective not found in the provided dictionary and does not transparently convey the full meaning (extinct early human in East Africa and dating information). Scientific binomials are partly compositional (genus + epithet) but require domain or Latin knowledge to recover the specific taxonomic and historical sense, so the expression is only partially transparent.

Etymology

Homo habilis comes from Latin and means 'handy man'. The parts Homo and habilis mean 'man' and 'handy' or 'skillful'. Scientists gave this name because these early humans used simple tools, so the name reminds us they were early tool users.