English word humility comes through French from Latin humilitas (insignificance, unimportance, degradation, debasement, humiliation), which comes from Latin humilis (base, mean, humble), which itself ultimately derives from Latin humus (Earth, soil, ground)
| Dictionary entry | Language | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| humus | Latin (lat) | Earth, soil. Ground. |
| humilis | Latin (lat) | (in respect to birth, fortune or worth) base, mean, humble, obscure, poor, needy, insignificant, low. (of mind or character) submissive, abject. Low, lowly, small, slight; shallow. |
| humilitas | Latin (lat) | Degradation, debasement, humiliation. Insignificance, unimportance. Submissiveness. |
| umilité | Old French (842-ca. 1400) (fro) | Humbleness; humility. |
| humilite | Middle English (1100-1500) (enm) | |
| humility | English (en) | The characteristic of being humble; humbleness in character and behavior. |