Hominis appellatione tam feminam quam masculum contineri non dubitatur
“There is no doubt that the term ‘human being’ includes both woman and man.”
Justinian’s Digest 50.16.152
What does “Hominis appellatione tam feminam quam masculum contineri non dubitatur” mean?
Hominis appellatione tam feminam quam masculum contineri non dubitatur translates as “There is no doubt that the term ‘human being’ includes both woman and man.”
A Roman legal rule of interpretation: where the law speaks of a person, it means women as well as men. It is often quoted today in discussions of equality and of how legal language should be read.
“Hominis appellatione tam feminam quam masculum …” word by word
| Latin | English | Grammar |
|---|---|---|
| Hominis | of the human being | genitive singular of homo, hominis, “human being, person”; here the genitive depends on appellatione |
| appellatione | by the term, by the name | ablative singular of appellatio, “naming, term”; ablative of means, “by the word” |
| tam | as much | adverb; pairs with quam to mean “both … and” |
| feminam | woman | accusative singular of femina, “woman”; subject of the accusative-and-infinitive clause |
| quam | as, and | conjunction; tam … quam means “as much … as”, here “both … and” |
| masculum | male, man | accusative singular of masculus, “male”, used as a noun |
| contineri | to be included | present infinitive passive of contineo, “I hold together, contain” |
| non | not | negative adverb |
| dubitatur | it is doubted | third person singular present passive of dubito, “I doubt”; non dubitatur means “there is no doubt” |
How to pronounce “Hominis appellatione tam feminam quam masculum …”
The Classical version has a hard t in appellatione (tee) and a h at the start of hominis; the Church version softens ti before a vowel to tsee and usually drops the h. Stress falls on the long syllable before the ending in most words, e.g. appellaTIOne, feMInam, conTInERI.
The story behind it
Word for word the sentence says that by the naming of “human being”, both woman and man are not doubted to be included. In plain English: no one doubts that the word “human being” covers women as well as men.
It comes from Justinian’s Digest, the great sixth-century collection of Roman legal opinions, in the title on the meaning of words (De verborum significatione). There it is attributed to the Roman jurist Gaius, who wrote in the second century AD.
As a rule of interpretation it says that when a law speaks of a person in general terms, women are covered too. Today it is quoted in discussions of equality and of how legal language should be read.
How to use “Hominis appellatione tam feminam quam masculum …”
Suited to a legal essay on equality, a law school or faculty display for International Women’s Day, or a talk on how statutes should be interpreted. It works best where the point is about inclusive wording.
- Latin
- Hominis appellatione tam feminam quam masculum contineri non dubitatur
- English
- There is no doubt that the term ‘human being’ includes both woman and man.
- Source
- Justinian’s Digest 50.16.152
- Era
- Legal Latin
- Theme
- Justice
Common mistakes
- The quote is a rule about the meaning of a word. It does not say Roman women had the same rights as men, which they did not.
- Homo means “human being”, not “man” as opposed to woman; the male-only word is vir.
- Do not shorten it to Hominis appellatione alone; the point lies in the clause about woman and man.
- The reference is Digest 50.16.152; it is often cited carelessly, so check the number when quoting.
Questions about “Hominis appellatione tam feminam quam masculum …”
What does “Hominis appellatione tam feminam quam masculum contineri non dubitatur” mean?
It means “There is no doubt that the term ‘human being’ includes both woman and man.” It is a rule of legal interpretation.
Who said “Hominis appellatione tam feminam quam masculum contineri non dubitatur”?
It is attributed to the Roman jurist Gaius and preserved in Justinian’s Digest 50.16.152.
What does “contineri” mean in this sentence?
It is the passive infinitive of contineo, “to be included, to be contained”. The clause says woman and man are included.
How do you pronounce “Hominis appellatione tam feminam quam masculum contineri non dubitatur”?
In Classical Latin: HOH-mih-nis ap-pel-lah-tee-OH-neh tam feh-MEE-nam kwam mas-KOO-loom kon-tih-NEH-ree nohn doo-bih-TAH-toor.
More to explore
Translation and grammar checked by Latin Quoter · last reviewed November 2026
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