was wotd|2007|September|10
English
webster
Etymology
F., from L. humilis on the ground, low, from humus the earth, ground. See homage, and confer chameleon, humiliate.
Pronunciation
audio|en-us-humble.ogg|Audio (US)
:Rhymes: Rhymes:English:-�mb�l|-�mb�l
Adjective
en-adj|humbler|humblest
- Near the ground; not high or lofty; not pretentious or magnificent; unpretending; unassuming; as, a humble cottage.
#:Thy humble nest built on the ground. -Cowley.
- Thinking lowly of one's self; claiming little for one's self; not proud, arrogant, or assuming; thinking one's self ill-deserving or unworthy, when judged by the demands of God; lowly; weak; modest.
#:God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Jas. iv. 6.
#:She should be humble who would please. -Prior.
#:Without a humble imitation of the divine Author of our . . . religion we can never hope to be a happy nation. -Washington.
Derived terms
humble plant (Bot.), a species of sensitive plant, of the genus Mimosa (M. sensitiva).
to eat humble pie, to endure mortification; to submit or apologize abjectly; to yield passively to insult or humilitation; -- a phrase derived from a pie made of the entrails or humbles of a deer, which was formerly served to servants and retainers at a hunting feast.
Related terms
humbles, halliwell, thackeray
Translations
trans-top|near the ground
Bosnian: t-|bs|skroman, t-|bs|nizak
Croatian: t-|hr|skroman, t-|hr|nizak
Finnish: vaatimaton
trans-mid
Serbian:
:Cyrillic: t|sr|�к�оман|scCyrl, t|sr|низак|scCyrl
:Roman: t-|sr|skroman, t-|sr|nizak
trans-bottom
trans-top|thinking lowly of one's self
Bosnian: t-|bs|skroman
Croatian: t-|hr|skroman
Czech: pokorný m
Finnish: vaatimaton, nöyrä
trans-mid
Serbian:
:Cyrillic: t|sr|�к�оман|sc=Cyrl
:Roman: t-|sr|skroman
trans-bottom
Verb
en-verb|humbl|ing
- To bring low; to reduce the power, independence, or exaltation of; to lower; to abase; to humiliate.
#:Here, take this purse, thou whom the heaven's plagues have humbled to all strokes. -Shak.
#:The genius which humbled six marshals of France. -Macaulay.
- To make humble or lowly in mind; to abase the pride or arrogance of; to reduce the self-sufficiency of; to make meek and submissive; -- often used reflexively.
#:Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you. 1 Pet. v. 6.
Synonyms
to abase; lower; depress; humiliate; mortify; disgrace; degrade.
Translations
trans-top|To bring low etc.
Czech: poko�it
Finnish: (to humiliate) nöyryyttää
trans-mid
trans-bottom
trans-top|To make humble or lowly in mind etc.
trans-mid
trans-bottom
de:humble
et:humble
fa:humble
fr:humble
io:humble
hu:humble
pl:humble
ru:humble
fi:humble
ta:humble
te:humble
vi:humble
zh:humble
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