Humble

• POS: Adjective, Noun, Verb (transitive)
• HYPHEN: hum=ble

CIDE DICTIONARY

Humble, a. [F., fr. L. humilis on the ground, low, fr. humus the earth, ground. See Homage, and cf. Chameleon, Humiliate.].

•  Near the ground; not high or lofty; not pretentious or magnificent; unpretending; unassuming; as, a humble cottage.  [1913 Webster]

  "THy humble nest built on the ground."  [1913 Webster]
•  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.  [1913 Webster]

  "God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble."  [1913 Webster]

  "She should be humble who would please."  [1913 Webster]

  "Without a humble imitation of the divine Author of our . . . religion we can never hope to be a happy nation."  [1913 Webster]

Humble plant (Bot.), a species of sensitive plant, of the genus Mimosa (Mimosa 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, a. 

 Hornless. See Hummel.  [1913 Webster]

Humble, v. t. 

•  To bring low; to reduce the power, independence, or exaltation of; to lower; to abase; to humilate.  [1913 Webster]

  "Here, take this purse, thou whom the heaven's plagues
  Have humbled to all strokes."  [1913 Webster]

  "The genius which humbled six marshals of France."  [1913 Webster]
•  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.  [1913 Webster]

  "Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you."

Syn. -- To abase; lower; depress; humiliate; mortify; disgrace; degrade.

OXFORD DICTIONARY

Humble, adj. & v.
--adj.
1 a having or showing a low estimate of one's own importance. b offered with or affected by such an estimate (if you want my humble opinion).
2 of low social or political rank (humble origins).
3 (of a thing) of modest pretensions, dimensions, etc.
--v.tr.
1 make humble; bring low; abase.
2 lower the rank or status of.

Idiom

eat humble pie make a humble apology; accept humiliation.

Derivative

humbleness n. humbly adv.

Etymology

ME umble, humble f. OF umble f. L humilis lowly f. humus ground: humble pie f. UMBLES

THESAURUS

Humble

abase, abash, abject, accommodating, acquiescent, adapting, adaptive, adjusting, altruistic, amenable, apologetic, base, baseborn, beat down, below the salt, bend, break, break down, bring down, bring low, bring to terms, broken, bump, bust, cast down, chagrin, chasten, chastened, cockney, committed, common, commonplace, compliant, conquer, consecrated, contrite, crush, debase, dedicated, deferential, deflate, degrade, demean, demeaning, demote, deplume, devoted, disadvantaged, discomfit, disgrace, disgrade, disinterested, displume, domesticated, dovelike, downgrade, embarrass, fell, flatten, gentle, homely, housebroken, humble-looking, humble-visaged, humbled, humblest, humiliate, ignoble, in the shade, inferior, infra dig, inglorious, innocuous, insignificant, junior, lamblike, least, less, lesser, let down, lose face, low, lowborn, lowbred, lower, lowest, lowliest, lowly, master, mean, meek, melted, mild, minor, modest, mortify, nonclerical, obedient, obscure, obsequious, ordinary, overmaster, override, overwhelm, pacific, passive, peaceable, penitent, penitential, penitentiary, plain, plebeian, poor, prostrate, pull down, put down, put out, put to shame, quell, quiet, reconciled, reduce, repentant, reserved, resigned, respectful, ride down, rude, sacrificing, second rank, second string, secondary, self-abasing, self-abnegating, self-abnegatory, self-denying, self-devoted, self-effacing, self-forgetful, self-immolating, self-neglectful, self-neglecting, self-renouncing, self-sacrificing, self-unconscious, selfless, servile, shabby-genteel, shame, sheepish, simple, sink, small, smash, softened, strip of rank, sub, subaltern, subdue, subdued, subject, subjugate, submissive, subordinate, subservient, suppress, tame, tamed, teachable, third rank, third string, third-estate, touched, trample down, trample underfoot, tread underfoot, tyrannize, unacquisitive, unambitious, unaspiring, unassuming, unboastful, uncomplaining, underprivileged, undistinguished, ungenteel, unimportant, unimposing, unman, unobtrusive, unostentatious, unpossessive, unprepossessing, unpresuming, unpresumptuous, unpretending, unpretentious, unresisting, unselfish, unsparing of self, unwashed, vanquish, vulgar

ROGET THESAURUS

Humble

Submission

N submission, yielding, nonresistance, obedience, surrender, cession, capitulation, resignation, backdown, obeisance, homage, kneeling, genuflexion, courtesy, curtsy, kowtow, prostration, surrendering, submissive, resigned, crouching, downtrodden, down on one's marrow bones, on one's bended knee, unresistant, unresisting, nonresisting, pliant, undefended, untenable, indefensible, humble, have it your own way, it can't be helped, amen, da locum melioribus, tempori parendum.

Piety

N piety, religion, theism, faith, religiousness, holiness, saintship, religionism, sanctimony, reverence, humility, veneration, devotion, prostration, grace, unction, edification, sanctity, sanctitude, consecration, spiritual existence, odor of sanctity, beauty of holiness, theopathy, beatification, adoption, regeneration, conversion, justification, sanctification, salvation, inspiration, bread of life, Body and Blood of Christ, believer, convert, theist, Christian, devotee, pietist, the good, the righteous, the just, the believing, the elect, Saint, Madonna, Notre Dame, Our Lady, the children of God, the children of the Kingdom, the children of the light, pious, religious, devout, devoted, reverent, godly, heavenly- minded, humble, pure, holy, spiritual, pietistic, saintly, saint-like, seraphic, sacred, solemn, believing, faithful, Christian, Catholic, elected, adopted, justified, sanctified, regenerated, inspired, consecrated, converted, unearthly, not of the earth, ne vile fano, pure-eyed Faith, thou hovering angel girt with golden wings.

Humility

VB be humble, deign, vouchsafe, condescend, humble oneself, demean oneself, stoop, stoop to conquer, carry coals, submit, submit with a good grace, yield the palm, lower one's tone, lower one's note, sing small, draw in one's horns, sober down, hide one's face, hide one's diminished head, not dare to show one's face, take shame to oneself, not have a word to say for oneself, feel shame, be conscious of shame, feel disgrace, be conscious of disgrace, drink the cup of humiliation to the dregs, blush for, blush up to the eves, redden, change color, color up, hang one's head, look foolish, feel small, render humble, humble, humiliate, let down, set down, take down, tread down, frown down, snub, abash, abase, make one sing small, strike dumb, teach one his distance, put down, take down a peg, take down a peg lower, throw into the shade, cast into the shade, stare out of countenance, put out of countenance, put to the blush, confuse, ashame, mortify, disgrace, crush, send away with a flea in one's ear, get a setdown.

N humility, humbleness, meekness, lowness, lowliness, lowlihood, abasement, self-abasement, submission, resignation, condescension, affability, modesty, verecundity, blush, suffusion, confusion, sense of shame, sense of disgrace, humiliation, mortification, let down, set down, humble, lowly, meek, modest, humble minded, sober-minded, unoffended, submissive, servile, condescending, affable, humbled, bowed down, resigned, abashed, ashamed, dashed, out of countenance, down in the mouth, down on one's knees, down on one's marrowbones, down on one's uppers, humbled in the dust, browbeaten, chapfallen, crestfallen, dumfoundered, flabbergasted, shorn of one's glory, with downcast eyes, with bated breath, with bended knee, on all fours, on one's feet, under correction, with due deference, I am your obedient servant, I am your very humble servant, my service to you, da locum melioribus, parvum parva decent.

Modesty

N modesty, humility, diffidence, timidity, retiring disposition, unobtrusiveness, bashfulness, mauvaise honte, blush, blushing, verecundity, self-knowledge, reserve, constraint, demureness, blushing honors, modest, diffident, humble, timid, timorous, bashful, shy, nervous, skittish, coy, sheepish, shamefaced, blushing, overmodest, unpretending, unpretentious, unobtrusive, unassuming, unostentatious, unboastful, unaspiring, poor in spirit, out of countenance, reserved, constrained, demure, humbly, quietly, privately, without ceremony, without beat of drum, sans fa, not stepping o'er the bounds of modesty, thy modesty's a candle to thy merit.