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Added 9 October 2026

humble

/ˈhʌmbəl/ adjective

In Latin: humilis Wiktionary

adjective Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about humble at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

Not pretentious or magnificent; unpretending; unassuming.
He lives in a humble one-bedroom cottage.
Having a low position or a low opinion of oneself; not proud, arrogant, or assuming; modest.

noun

People with a low position or a low opinion of themselves; those who are not proud, arrogant, or assuming.
An arrest based on weak evidence intended to demean or punish the subject.

verb

To defeat or reduce the power, independence, or pride of.
To make humble or lowly; to make less proud or arrogant; to make meek and submissive.

noun

Alternative form of hummel.
humble cattle

Origin

From Middle English humble, from Old French humble, umble, humle, from Latin humilis (“low, slight, hence mean, humble”) (compare Greek χαμηλός (khamēlós, “on the ground, low, trifling”)), from humus (“the earth, ground”), humi (“on the ground”). See homage, and compare chameleon, humiliate. Displaced native Old English ēaþmōd.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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