humble

Where does the word "humble" come from? It comes from Latin humilis, passing through Old French before entering English (1300s).

Humble’s story begins in Latin: humilis meant “low, lowly.” From 'humus', earth, ground. By medieval, the word had taken hold in Old French as umble. Spoken French dropped the Latin h. It reached English by 1300s as humble. The h stayed silent until the 1800s; 'humble pie' comes from 'umbles', animal offal. Today, humble means having a modest view of oneself.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient humilis "low, lowly", from 'humus', earth, ground.
2. Stage 2 · Old French · medieval umble "humble", spoken French dropped the Latin h.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1300s humble "lowly", the h stayed silent until the 1800s; 'humble pie' comes from 'umbles', animal offal.