Hum″ble (hŭm″b'l; 277), a. [Compar.Humbler (–blẽr); superl.Humblest (–blĕst).] [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.
Thy humble nest built on the ground. Cowley.
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; weak; modest.
God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Jas. iv. 6.
She should be humble who would please. Prior.
Without a humble imitation of the divine Author of our... religion we can never hope to be a happy nation. Washington.
Humble plant(Bot.), a species of sensitive plant, of the genus Mimosa (M. sensitiva). — To eat humble pie, to endure mortification; to submit or apologize abjectly; to yield passively to insult or humiliation; — 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.