I. ˈhəmbəl also ˈəm- adjective
( -er/-est )
Etymology: Middle English umble, humble, from Old French, from Latin humilis low, slight, humble, from humus earth, ground + -ilis -ile; akin to Greek chthōn earth, chamai on the ground, Sanskrit kṣam earth, ground
1.
a. : having a low opinion of one's own importance or merits : modest or meek in spirit, manner, or appearance : not proud or haughty
essentially humble … and self-effacing, he achieved the highest formal honors and distinctions — B.K.Malinowski
to them even the president was humble — Sinclair Lewis
a spot where a man feels his own insignificance and may well learn to be humble — Samuel Butler †1902
b. : reflecting, expressing, or offered in a humble spirit
my humblest apologies for the long wait — T.B.Costain
beg to submit my humble notion — Vicki Baum
hear my humble cry — Fanny J. Crosby
loathed his cringing look and humble smile
2.
a. : ranking low in the social or political scale
a man of humble origin
all civil servants, no matter how humble , should be disenfranchised — J.H.Plumb
a humble fisherman
b. : ranking low in some hierarchy or scale : insignificant
in the study of the life of animals, however humble , we are studying … our own complex human life — W.E.Swinton
the humble weeds of the field
the giant stellar family of which our sun is a humble member — George Gamow
c. : of inferior value or worth : not costly or luxurious : mean , base , unpretentious
chief clerks have mahogany desks; to the others is relegated the humbler walnut — H.J.Laski
artisans … who work by hand with gold, silver, and the humbler metals — New Yorker
the humble fare of any Mexican peon — Green Peyton
: of modest dimensions or proportions
freighters using the same slips as the humble powerboats of small fishermen — American Guide Series: Massachusetts
equally humble were the beginnings of … the important State Department of Agriculture — American Guide Series: New York
Synonyms:
meek , modest , lowly : humble suggests absence of vanity and pride, feeling of weakness or lack of worth, self-depreciation, or an abject attitude and demeanor
love hath made her humble, and her race doth she forget, and her noble and mighty heart — William Morris
she prays there as the light goes out, prays with an humble heart, and walks home shrinking and silent — W.M.Thackeray
the cook drew himself up in a smugly humble fashion, a deprecating smirk on his face — Jack London
meek may suggest patient subdued retiring mildness and gentleness, sometimes even a spiritless, cowed submissiveness
the most modest, silent, sheep-faced and meek of little men — W.M.Thackeray
her father, of course, was the lion of the party, but seeing that we were all meek and quite willing to be eaten, he roared to us rather than at us — Samuel Butler †1902
modest may contrast with brash or self-assertive; without any implication of abjectness or submissiveness, it may imply unobtrusive lack of boastfulness or conceited or jealous demand for recognition
a simple, modest, retiring man — F.D.Roosevelt
the anthropologist is entirely proper and modest in refusing as an anthropologist to make judgments on other cultural beliefs with respect to their epistemological truth — Weston La Barre
lowly , close to humble, may stress complete lack of worldly pretentiousness
a monk of Lindisfarne, so simple and lowly in temper that he traveled on foot — J.R.Green
you hold aloof from me because you are rich and lofty — and I poor and lowly — W.S.Gilbert
II. transitive verb
( humbled ; humbled ; humbling -b(ə)liŋ ; humbles )
Etymology: Middle English humblen, from humble, adjective
1. : to make humble in spirit or manner : bring down the pride or arrogance of
having humbled your heart … you may find him — Francis Yeats-Brown
humbled himself before the rich and great
2. : to destroy the power, independence, or prestige of : defeat decisively : degrade , abase
the great marshal humbled his enemies in a swift, brilliantly conducted campaign
it was now the turn of the Church to be humbled