Etymology

hostis humani generis

hos·tis hu·ma·ni ge·ne·ris

Today it means: A person who has committed a criminal act so grave – originally maritime piracy and slave-trading, and now torture as well – that any nation may put on trial and, upon conviction, punish them. Full definition →

Latin hostis hūmānī generis
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The story

  1. Latin · borrowed fromhostis hūmānī generis“enemy of the human race”
  2. English todayhostis humani generis

Borrowed from Latin hostis hūmānī generis (“enemy of the human race”): hostis (“enemy of the state”) + hūmānī, genitive singular neuter of hūmānus (“of man”) + generis, genitive singular of genus (“race”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.