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Humble - 9 dictionary results
hum⋅ble
[huhm-buh
l, uhm-] 
adjective, -bler, -blest, verb, -bled, -bling.
–adjective
–verb (used with object)
| 1. | not proud or arrogant; modest: to be humble although successful. |
| 2. | having a feeling of insignificance, inferiority, subservience, etc.: In the presence of so many world-famous writers I felt very humble. |
| 3. | low in rank, importance, status, quality, etc.; lowly: of humble origin; a humble home. |
| 4. | courteously respectful: In my humble opinion you are wrong. |
| 5. | low in height, level, etc.; small in size: a humble member of the galaxy. |
| 6. | to lower in condition, importance, or dignity; abase. |
| 7. | to destroy the independence, power, or will of. |
| 8. | to make meek: to humble one's heart. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Language Translation for : Humble
| Spanish: | humilde, | German: | bescheiden, | Japanese: | 謙虚な |
| hum·ble
(hŭm'bəl) Pronunciation Key
adj. hum·bler, hum·blest
tr.v. hum·bled, hum·bling, hum·bles
[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin humilis, low, lowly, from humus, ground; see dhghem- in Indo-European roots.] hum'ble·ness n., hum'bler n., hum'bly adv. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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humble (adj.)
c.1250, from O.Fr. humble, earlier humele, from L. humilis "lowly, humble," lit. "on the ground," from humus "earth." Senses of "not self-asserting" and "of low birth or rank" were both in M.E. The verb is c.1380 in the intrans. sense of "to render oneself humble;" 1484 in the trans. sense of "to lower (someone) in dignity."
"Don't be so humble; you're not that great." [Golda Meir]To eat humble pie (1830) is from umble pie (1648), pie made from umbles "edible inner parts of an animal" (especially deer), considered a low-class food. The similar sense of similar-sounding words (the "h" of humble was not pronounced then) converged in the pun. Umbles, meanwhile, is M.E. numbles "offal" (with loss of n- through assimilation into preceding article), from O.Fr. nombles "loin, fillet," from L. lumulus, dim. of lumbus "loin."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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| humble | |
adjective | |
| 1. | low or inferior in station or quality; "a humble cottage"; "a lowly parish priest"; "a modest man of the people"; "small beginnings" |
| 2. | marked by meekness or modesty; not arrogant or prideful; "a humble apology"; "essentially humble...and self-effacing, he achieved the highest formal honors and distinctions"- B.K.Malinowski [ant: proud] |
| 3. | used of unskilled work (especially domestic work) |
| 4. | of low birth or station ('base' is archaic in this sense); "baseborn wretches with dirty faces"; "of humble (or lowly) birth" [syn: base] |
verb | |
| 1. | cause to be unpretentious; "This experience will humble him" |
| 2. | cause to feel shame; hurt the pride of; "He humiliated his colleague by criticising him in front of the boss" [syn: humiliate] |
WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Humble, TX (city, FIPS 35348)
Location: (29.994920, -95.264873)
Population (2000): 14,579 (5,908 housing units)
Area: 9.867487 sq mi (land), 0.013151 sq mi (water)
Zip code(s): 77338, 77339, 77345, 77346, 77396
U.S. Gazetteer, U.S. Census Bureau
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Humble
Hum"ble\, a. [Compar. Humbler; superl. Humblest.] [F., fr. L. humilis on the ground, low, fr. humus the earth, ground. See Homage, and cf. Chameleon, Humiliate.]1. 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. 2. 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; waek; 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. 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. See Humbles. --Halliwell. --Thackeray.Humble
Hum"ble\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Humbled; p. pr. & vb. n. Humbling.]1. To bring low; to reduce the power, independence, or exaltation of; to lower; to abase; to humilate. 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. 2. To make humble or lowly in mind; to abase the pride or arrogance of; to reduce the self-sufficiently of; to make meek and submissive; -- often used rexlexively. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you. --1 Pet. v. 6. Syn: To abase; lower; depress; humiliate; mortify; disgrace; degrade.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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