humanism

From human +‎ -ism, borrowed from German Humanismus, coined by Friedrich Immanuel Niethammer in 1808.

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈhjuːmənɪz(ə)m/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈhjumənɪz(ə)m/

humanism (usually uncountable, plural humanisms)

1. The study of the humanities or the liberal arts; literary (especially classical) scholarship. [from 19th c.]
2. (historical, often capitalized) Specifically, a cultural and intellectual movement in 14th-16th century Europe characterised by attention to classical culture and a promotion of vernacular texts, notably during the Renaissance. [from 19th c.]
   • 2009, Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity, Penguin, published 2010, page 575:

     There were good reasons for humanism and the Renaissance to take their origins from fourteenth-century Italy.

3. An ethical system that centers on humans and their values, needs, interests, abilities, dignity and freedom; especially used for a secular one which rejects theistic religion and superstition. [from 19th c.]
4. Humanitarianism, philanthropy.

• Humanism on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Renaissance humanism on Wikipedia.Wikipedia