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Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary hum·ble
ETYMOLOGY Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin humilis low, humble, from humus earth; akin to Greek chthōn earth, chamai on the ground DATE 13th century 1. not proud or haughty : not arrogant or assertive 2. reflecting, expressing, or offered in a spirit of deference or submission a humble apology 3. a. ranking low in a hierarchy or scale : insignificant , unpretentious b. not costly or luxurious a humble contraption
transitive verb DATE 14th century 1. to make humble in spirit or manner 2. to destroy the power, independence, or prestige of English Etymology humble humble (adj.) mid-13c., 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 late 14c. in the intransitive sense of "to render oneself humble;" late 15c. in the transitive 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 (1640s), 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 http://O.Fr O.Fr . nombles"loin, fillet," from L. lumulus, dim. of lumbus "loin."http://O.Fr Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary-牛津双解-OALD7 humble hum·ble / 5hQmbl / adjective(hum·bler / 5hQmblE(r) / hum·blest / 5hQmblist / ) 1. showing you do not think that you are as important as other people 谦逊的；虚心的 SYN modest :
Be humble enough to learn from your mistakes. 要虚心地从自己的错误中学习。 my humble tribute to this great man 鄙人对这位伟人表示敬意 ⇨ see also humility 2. (ironic or humorous) used to suggest that you are not as important as other people, but in a way that is not sincere or not very serious (表示谦逊,但不够诚挚或认真): In my humble opinion, you were in the wrong. 依拙见,你错了。 My humble apologies. I did not understand. 对不起。我没有弄懂。 3. having a low rank or social position (级别或地位)低下的,卑微的: a man of humble birth / origins 出身低微的人 a humble occupation 卑下职业 the daughter of a humble shopkeeper 一位小店主的女儿 4. (of a thing 事物) not large or special in any way 不大的；没有特别之处的 SYN modest :
a humble farmhouse 小农舍 The company has worked its way up from humble beginnings to become the market leader. 公司已从创业期的微不足道发展成了市场的主导者。 • hum·bly / 5hQmbli / adv.: I would humbly suggest that there is something wrong here. 愚以为这里有点错误。 'Sorry,' she said humbly. "对不起。"她谦逊地说。 IDIOMS ⇨ see eat verb[VN] 1. to make sb feel that they are not as good or important as they thought they were 贬低；使感到卑微: He was humbled by her generosity. 她的大度使他觉得自己渺小。 a humbling experience 一次令人惭愧的经历 2. [usually passive] to easily defeat an opponent, especially a strong or powerful one 轻松打败(尤指强大的对手): The world champion was humbled last night in three rounds. 这位世界冠军昨晚三个回合就被轻松击败。 3. ~ yourself to show that you are not too proud to ask for sth, admit that you have been wrong, etc. 低声下气；谦逊；虚心 ⇨ see also humility Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Thesaurus-11th Edition adj. Function: verb to make lower in status, prestige, or esteem FF1C;his devotion to duty humbled his criticsFF1E; Synonyms: abase, bemean, cast down, debase, degrade, demean, humiliate, lower, sink Related Words: chagrin, mortify; abash, discomfit, embarrass Idioms: bring low, take down a peg or two Contrasted Words: aggrandize, exalt, magnify adj. Function: adjective 1 lacking all signs of pride, aggressiveness, or self-assertiveness FF1C;accepted her success with humble appreciationFF1E; Synonyms: lowly, meek, modest, unassuming Related Words: simple, unobtrusive, unostentatious, unpretentious; acquiescent, compliant, resigned; quiet, subdued, submissive Contrasted Words: ostentatious, pretentious, showy; vain, vainglorious; arrogant, disdainful, haughty, lordly, overbearing, proud, toplofty Antonyms: conceited 2 Synonyms: IGNOBLE 1, base, baseborn, low, lowborn, lowly, mean, plebeian, unennobled, unwashedWebster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged Search result show the entry is found in: humble-bee , or humble pie , or humble planthum·ble 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 > |
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