- Humble
- 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.
[1913 Webster]
THy humble nest built on the ground. --Cowley. [1913 Webster]
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. [1913 Webster]
God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. --Jas. iv. 6. [1913 Webster]
She should be humble who would please. --Prior. [1913 Webster]
Without a humble imitation of the divine Author of our . . . religion we can never hope to be a happy nation. --Washington. [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. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
