'pre-human' originates from the English prefix 'pre-' (from Latin 'prae') meaning 'before', combined with 'human' (from Latin 'humanus') meaning 'of man'.

'pre-' entered English as a productive prefix (via Latin 'prae' and Old French usage) and was combined with 'human' (from Latin 'humanus') in Modern English to form the compound 'pre-human'.

Initially it meant 'before humans' (literally 'prior to humans'), and this core sense has remained stable in modern usage meaning 'existing or occurring before anatomically modern humans'.