From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Humanity \Hu*man"i*ty\, n.; pl. Humanities. [L. humanitas: cf.
F. humanit['e]. See Human.]
1. The quality of being human; the peculiar nature of man, by
which he is distinguished from other beings.
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2. Mankind collectively; the human race.
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But hearing oftentimes
The still, and music humanity. --Wordsworth.
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It is a debt we owe to humanity. --S. S. Smith.
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3. The quality of being humane; the kind feelings,
dispositions, and sympathies of man; especially, a
disposition to relieve persons or animals in distress, and
to treat all creatures with kindness and tenderness. "The
common offices of humanity and friendship." --Locke.
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4. Mental cultivation; liberal education; instruction in
classical and polite literature.
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Polished with humanity and the study of witty
science. --Holland.
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5. pl. (With definite article) The branches of polite or
elegant learning; as language, rhetoric, poetry, and the
ancient classics; belles-letters.
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Note: The cultivation of the languages, literature, history,
and arch[ae]ology of Greece and Rome, were very
commonly called liter[ae] humaniores, or, in English,
the humanities, . . . by way of opposition to the
liter[ae] divin[ae], or divinity. --G. P. Marsh.
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From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
humanities
n 1: studies intended to provide general knowledge and
intellectual skills (rather than occupational or
professional skills); "the college of arts and sciences"
[syn: humanistic discipline, humanities, {liberal
arts}, arts]