humility means the characteristic of being humble; humbleness in character and behavior. It carries an Arena rating of 1519, earned across 2 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, humility ranks #2,402 of 17,143 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words, #3,740 of 17,130 for Most Beautiful Words, #4,179 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #5,671 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books.
humility is pronounced /hjuːˈmɪlɪti/.
Why “humility” is a great word
The quality of possessing a modest and accurate view of one’s own importance. Its lineage traces from Middle English *humilite*, through Old French *(h)umilité*, to the Latin *humilitas* (“lowness, humility”), from *humilis* (“low, lowly, humble”), itself from *humus* (“earth, ground”). Unlike “meekness,” which often implies a pliant or undue submissiveness, or “modesty,” which concerns the outward restraint of one’s achievements, humility is the quieter, more comprehensive inward grace of genuine self-assessment. It is the gardener’s hands pressing seeds into dark soil, the scholar who falls silent before the architecture of the unknown, and the clear-eyed recognition that one’s own story is but a single thread in a vast and ancient tapestry—a sobering and strangely liberating return to earth.
Etymology
From Middle English humilite, from Old French (h)umilité, from Latin humilitas (“lowness, meanness, baseness, in Late Latin humility”), from humilis (“low, lowly, humble, earth”). Equivalent to humble + -ity, with /mb/ reduced to /m/ (compare plumbing). Displaced native Old English ēaþmōdnes. Doublet of omertà.
noun
- The characteristic of being humble; humbleness in character and behavior.e.g.“You can tell his humility is real by how he treats ordinary people.”
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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