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.
Meanings
Not pretentious or magnificent; unpretending; unassuming.
Undoubtedly it can be said that the humble 0-6-0 has been the backbone for general service, or general utility on British railways right from their earliest days, and is likely to remain so. 1945 November and December, H. C. Casserley, “Random Reflections on British Locomotive Types—1”, in Railway Magazine, page 320:
Roominess and unroominess in a human dwelling, even of the humblest kind, are important matters in their bearing upon man's character. 1894, Irish Builder and Engineer, volume 36, page 147:
Lucky that my lips not only mumble / They spill kisses like a fountain / Lucky that my breasts are small and humble / So you don't confuse 'em with mountains 2001 August 30, Shakira, “Whenever, Wherever”, in Laundry Service:
17th century, Abraham Cowley, The Shortness of Life and Uncertainty of Riches
The wise example of the heavenly lark.
Thy fellow poet, Cowley, mark,
Above the clouds let thy proud music sound,
Thy humble nest build on the ground.
He lives in a humble one-bedroom cottage.
Having a low position or a low opinion of oneself; not proud, arrogant, or assuming; modest.
Rosol's 65 winners to Nadal's 41 was one of the crucial statistics in the 3hr 18min match that ended in a 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 triumph labelled a "miracle" by Rosol, who was humble enough to offer commiserations to Nadal. 2012 June 28, Jamie Jackson, “Wimbledon 2012: Lukas Rosol shocked by miracle win over Rafael Nadal”, in The Guardian, London:
She ſhould be humble, who would pleaſe;
And ſhe muſt ſuffer, who can love. a. 1722 (date written), Matthew Prior, “Cloe Jealous”, in The Poetical Works of Matthew Prior […], volume I, London: […] W[illiam] Strahan, […], published 1779, →OCLC, stanza V, page 109:
eo humila (thinking lowly of oneself) · sv ödmjuk (thinking lowly of oneself) · mk скромен (thinking lowly of oneself) · ru кро́ткий (thinking lowly of oneself) · tr kalender (thinking lowly of oneself) · nl bescheiden (thinking lowly of oneself) · lv vienkāršs (thinking lowly of oneself) · id rendah hati (thinking lowly of oneself) · pl pokorny (thinking lowly of oneself) · dsb pokorny (thinking lowly of oneself) · ko 겸손한 (thinking lowly of oneself) · ja 謙虚な (thinking lowly of oneself) · tr mütevazı (thinking lowly of oneself) · da ydmyg (thinking lowly of oneself) · sk pokorný (thinking lowly of oneself) · ro umil (thinking lowly of oneself) · gl humilde (thinking lowly of oneself) · lb damiddeg (thinking lowly of oneself) · grc ταπεινός (thinking lowly of oneself) · pt humilde (thinking lowly of oneself) · vi khúm núm (thinking lowly of oneself) · ca humil (thinking lowly of oneself) · hu szerény (thinking lowly of oneself) · et alandlik (thinking lowly of oneself) · got 𐌷𐌰𐌿𐌽𐍃 (thinking lowly of oneself) · fa فروتن (thinking lowly of oneself) · sv anspråkslös (thinking lowly of oneself) · ko 경멸한 (thinking lowly of oneself) · io humila (thinking lowly of oneself) · bg смире́н (thinking lowly of oneself) · cmn 謙遜 /谦逊 (thinking lowly of oneself) · sh скроман (thinking lowly of oneself) · lv necils (thinking lowly of oneself) · ja 卑屈な (thinking lowly of oneself) · fi nöyrä (thinking lowly of oneself) · nl deemoedig (thinking lowly of oneself) · it modesto (thinking lowly of oneself) · ru скро́мный (thinking lowly of oneself) · vo mükik (thinking lowly of oneself) · ga umhal (thinking lowly of oneself) · bg скро́мен (thinking lowly of oneself) · he עָנָיו (thinking lowly of oneself) · hi विनम्र (thinking lowly of oneself) · pl skromny (thinking lowly of oneself) · zdj -nyekevu (thinking lowly of oneself) · cs pokorný (thinking lowly of oneself) · fi vaatimaton (thinking lowly of oneself) · es humilde (thinking lowly of oneself) · or ନମ୍ର (thinking lowly of oneself) · la humilis (thinking lowly of oneself) · ja 謙遜した (thinking lowly of oneself) · de bescheiden (thinking lowly of oneself) · tr alçak gönüllü (thinking lowly of oneself) · sh skroman (thinking lowly of oneself) · ru поко́рный (thinking lowly of oneself) · he צָנוּעַ (thinking lowly of oneself) · hu alázatos (thinking lowly of oneself) · ka თავმდაბალი (thinking lowly of oneself) · ang ēaþmōd (thinking lowly of oneself) · lt kuklus (thinking lowly of oneself) · pl uniżony (thinking lowly of oneself) · eu apal (thinking lowly of oneself) · tr gösterişsiz (thinking lowly of oneself) · ru ро́бкий (thinking lowly of oneself) · tr naçiz (thinking lowly of oneself) · nrf humbl'ye (thinking lowly of oneself) · sl skromen (thinking lowly of oneself) · de demütig (thinking lowly of oneself) · hy համեստ (thinking lowly of oneself) · chr ᏄᏢᏉᏛᎾ (thinking lowly of oneself) · cy gostyngedig (thinking lowly of oneself) · km ធ្វើអោយសុភាព (thinking lowly of oneself) · it umile (thinking lowly of oneself) · sv blygsam (thinking lowly of oneself) · fr humble (thinking lowly of oneself) · vi khiêm tốn (thinking lowly of oneself) · be сці́плы (thinking lowly of oneself) · uk скро́мний (thinking lowly of oneself) · et tagasihoidlik (thinking lowly of oneself) · be скро́мны (thinking lowly of oneself) · ast humilde (thinking lowly of oneself) · cmn 謙卑 /谦卑 (thinking lowly of oneself) · hi विनीत (thinking lowly of oneself) · hy պարկեշտ (thinking lowly of oneself) · pms umil (thinking lowly of oneself) · mi māhaki (thinking lowly of oneself) · es humildoso (thinking lowly of oneself) · cmn 謙虛 /谦虚 (thinking lowly of oneself) · no ydmyk (thinking lowly of oneself) · ar مُتَوَاضِع (thinking lowly of oneself) · mk смирен (thinking lowly of oneself) · ru смире́нный (thinking lowly of oneself) · izh nöyrä (thinking lowly of oneself) · oc umil (thinking lowly of oneself) · es modesto (thinking lowly of oneself)
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.
Meanings
People with a low position or a low opinion of themselves; those who are not proud, arrogant, or assuming.
c. 590 AD: Liber Regulae Pastoralis by Pope Gregory I
"The humble are to be admonished not to be more submissive than is right".
But he giueth more grace, wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proude, but giueth grace vnto the humble. 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, James 4:6:
(qualifier:Baltimore, slang) An arrest based on weak evidence intended to demean or punish the subject.
A humble is a cheap, inconsequential arrest that nonetheless gives the guy a night or two in jail before he sees a court commissioner. You can arrest people on “failure to obey,” it’s a humble. Loitering is a humble. These things were used by police officers going back to the ‘60s in Baltimore. It’s the ultimate recourse for a cop who doesn't like somebody who's looking at him the wrong way. 2015 April 29, “David Simon on Baltimore’s Anguish”, in The Marshall Project:
Years ago, guys on Baltimore's streets would have, by definition, called an arrest for loitering a "humble." 2005 April 23, Gregory Kane, “'Jive humble' arrests help fill Central Booking's cell”, in Baltimore Sun:
You're on a corner in my district, it ain't gonna be about no humble, it ain't gonna be about no loitering charge, nothing like that. There gonna be some biblical shit happening to you on the way to that motherfucking jail wagon. 2004 October 17, Ed Burns, “Straight and True”, in The Wire, season 3, episode 5 (television production), spoken by Howard "Bunny" Colvin (Robert Wisdom), via HBO:
From Middle English humblen (“to humble”), from the adjective above.
Meanings
(ambitransitive) To defeat or reduce the power, independence, or pride of.
Humble yourselues therefore vnder the mighty hand of God, that hee may exalt you in due time, 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 1 Peter 5:6:
Here, take this purse, thou whom the heaven's plagues have humbled to all strokes. c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i]:
But, after the death of the master, the servant proved himself capable of supplying with eminent ability the master's place, and was renowned throughout Europe as one of the great Triumvirate which humbled the pride of Lewis the Fourteenth. 1851, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter XI, in The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume III, London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC, pages 68–69:
(often, reflexive, transitive) To make humble or lowly; to make less proud or arrogant; to make meek and submissive.
The final, quiet moments of the book return to Sten; his experience of his sick son humbles him, just as his aging body humbles him, and Boyle seems to suggest this makes him a better man. 2015 April 8, Dana Spiotta, “T. C. Boyle’s ‘The Harder They Come’”, in The New York Times:
And you say you've been humbled in love / Cut down in your love / Forced to kneel in the mud next to me 1979 September 27, Leonard Cohen, “Humbled in Love”, in Recent Songs:
da nedgøre (to bring low, etc.) · es humildificar (to make humble or lowly in mind, etc.) · nl vernederen (to bring low, etc.) · es dar una lección de humildad (to make humble or lowly in mind, etc.) · de demütigen (to bring low, etc.) · nl verlagen (to bring low, etc.) · it sminuire (to bring low, etc.) · io humileskar (to bring low, etc.) · hu megszégyenít (to bring low, etc.) · ja 遜る (to make humble or lowly in mind, etc.) · got 𐌷𐌰𐌿𐌽𐌾𐌰𐌽 (to make humble or lowly in mind, etc.) · got 𐌷𐌰𐌿𐌽𐌾𐌰𐌽 (to bring low, etc.) · es hacer humilde (to make humble or lowly in mind, etc.) · ar وضع (to make humble or lowly in mind, etc.) · enm avalen (to bring low, etc.) · ja 低める (to bring low, etc.) · de erniedrigen (to make humble or lowly in mind, etc.) · fi nöyryyttää (to bring low, etc.) · mi whakapāpaku (to make humble or lowly in mind, etc.) · nl humiliëren (to bring low, etc.) · ga uirísligh (to bring low, etc.) · bg унижавам (to bring low, etc.) · da ringagte (to make humble or lowly in mind, etc.) · es humildear (to make humble or lowly in mind, etc.) · grc ταπεινόω (to bring low, etc.) · io humileskar (to make humble or lowly in mind, etc.) · fi nöyrryttää (to bring low, etc.) · da ydmyge (to bring low, etc.) · es aleccionar hasta la humildad (to make humble or lowly in mind, etc.) · vi hạ thấp (to make humble or lowly in mind, etc.) · ro umili (to make humble or lowly in mind, etc.) · pt diminuir (to bring low, etc.) · pt humilhar (to bring low, etc.) · de demütig machen (to make humble or lowly in mind, etc.) · ro umili (to bring low, etc.) · cs pokořit (to bring low, etc.) · hu megaláz (to bring low, etc.) · sv kväsa (to make humble or lowly in mind, etc.) · es humildear (to bring low, etc.) · nl deemoedigen (to make humble or lowly in mind, etc.) · hu lealacsonyít (to bring low, etc.) · es humildizar (to make humble or lowly in mind, etc.) · ca humiliar (to bring low, etc.) · es humillar (to make humble or lowly in mind, etc.) · mi whakapāpaku (to bring low, etc.) · grc ταπεινόω (to make humble or lowly in mind, etc.) · de erniedrigen (to bring low, etc.) · fi nöyrryttää (to make humble or lowly in mind, etc.) · bg смирявам (to make humble or lowly in mind, etc.)
From Middle English *humblen, *humbelen (suggested by humblynge (“a humming, a faint rumbling”)), frequentative of Middle English hummen (“to hum”), equivalent to hum + -le.