different between humble vs shame

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /?h?mb?l/
• (obsolete, Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /??mb?l/
• Rhymes: -?mb?l
• Hyphenation: hum?ble

Etymology 1

From Middle English humble, from Old French humble, umble, humle, from Latin humilis (“low, slight, hence mean, humble”) (compare Greek ??????? (khamalós, “on the ground, low, trifling”)), from humus (“the earth, ground”), humi (“on the ground”). See homage, and compare chameleon, humiliate. Displaced native Old English ?aþm?d.

The verb is from Middle English humblen (“to humble”).

Adjective

humble (comparative humbler or more humble, superlative humblest or most humble)

1. Not pretentious or magnificent; unpretending; unassuming.
   • 17th century, Abraham Cowley, The Shortness of Life and Uncertainty of Riches

     The wise example of the heavenly lark.
     Thy fellow poet, Cowley, mark,
     Above the clouds let thy proud music sound,
     Thy humble nest build on the ground.

2. Having a low opinion of oneself; not proud, arrogant, or assuming; modest.

   Synonyms: unassuming, modest
3. Near the ground.
   • 1952, E. B. White, Charlotte's Web, Harper Brothers:

     "Humble?" said Charlotte. "'Humble' has two meanings. It means 'not proud' and it means 'near the ground.' That's Wilbur all over. He's not proud and he's near the ground.

Synonyms

• See Thesaurus:humble

Antonyms

• arrogant
• snobby
• presumptuous
• smug

Derived terms

Related terms

• humbleness
• humiliate
• humiliation
• humility

Translations

Verb

humble (third-person singular simple present humbles, present participle humbling, simple past and past participle humbled)

1. (transitive, intransitive) To defeat or reduce the power, independence, or pride of
2. (transitive, often reflexive) To make humble or lowly; to make less proud or arrogant; to make meek and submissive.

Synonyms

• abase, lower, depress, humiliate, mortify, disgrace, degrade

Derived terms

• humblehood
• humbleness
• humbler (agent noun)
• humbly

Translations

Noun

humble (plural humbles)

1. (Baltimore, slang) An arrest based on weak evidence intended to demean or punish the subject.

Etymology 2

From Middle English *humblen, *humbelen (suggested by humblynge (“a humming, a faint rumbling”)), frequentative of Middle English hummen (“to hum”), equivalent to hum +? -le.

Verb

humble (third-person singular simple present humbles, present participle humbling, simple past and past participle humbled)

1. (intransitive, obsolete) To hum.

Derived terms

• humblebee

Etymology 3

Noun

humble (plural humbles)

1. (Northern England, Scotland, also attributive) Alternative form of hummel.

Verb

humble (third-person singular simple present humbles, present participle humbling, simple past and past participle humbled)

1. (transitive) Alternative form of hummel.

Further reading

• humble in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• humble in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.

French

Etymology

From Old French, from Latin humilis (“low, slight, hence mean, humble”) (compare Greek ??????? (khamalós, “on the ground, low, trifling”)), from humus (“the earth, ground”), humi (“on the ground”).

Pronunciation

• ^{(mute h)} IPA^(key): /œ?bl/
• Rhymes: -œ?bl
• Homophone: humbles

Adjective

humble (plural humbles)

1. humble

Related terms

• àmha
• à mon humble avis
• humblement
• humiliation
• humilier
• humilité

Further reading

• “humble” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Old French

Adjective

humble m (oblique and nominative feminine singular humble)

1. Alternative form of umble

Declension

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?e?m/
• Rhymes: -e?m

Etymology 1

From Middle English schame, from Old English s?amu, from Proto-Germanic *skam?.

Noun

shame (usually uncountable, plural shames)

1. Uncomfortable or painful feeling due to recognition or consciousness of one's own impropriety or dishonor, or something being exposed that should have been kept private.
2. Something to regret.
   • 1977, Evelyn "Champagne" King, Shame

     And what you do to me is a shame.
3. Reproach incurred or suffered; dishonour; ignominy; derision.

   • […] because ye haue borne the shame of the heathen,

   • 1813, Lord Byron, The Giaour

     And every woe a tear can claim / Except an erring sister's shame.

4. The cause or reason of shame; that which brings reproach and ignominy.

   • guides who are the shame of religion

5. That which is shameful and private, especially private parts.
   • 1611, KJV, Jubilees 3:22:

     And he took fig leaves and sewed them together and made an apron for himself. And he covered his shame.

   • 1991, Martha Graham, Blood Memory, Washington Square Press

     She turns to lift her robe, and lays it across her as though she were revealing her shame, as though she were naked.

Synonyms

• (uncomfortable or painful feeling): dishonor
• (something regrettable): dishonor, humiliation, mortification, pity
• See also: Thesaurus:shame

Antonyms

• (uncomfortable or painful feeling): honor

Derived terms

Translations

Interjection

shame

1. A cry of admonition for the subject of a speech, either to denounce the speaker or to agree with the speaker's denunciation of some person or matter; often used reduplicated, especially in political debates.
   • 1982, "Telecommunications Bill", Hansard

     Mr John Golding: One would not realise that it came from the same Government, because in that letter the Under-Secretary states: "The future of BT's pension scheme is a commercial matter between BT, its workforce, and the trustees of the pensions scheme, and the Government cannot give any guarantees about future pension arrangements."

     Mr. Charles R. Morris: Shame.

   • 1831, The Bristol Job Nott; or, Labouring Man's Friend

     [...] the Duke of Dorset charged in the list with "not known, but supposed forty thousand per year" (charitable supposition) had when formerly in office only about 3 or £4,000, and has not now, nor when the black list was printed, any office whatever — (Much tumult, and cries of "shame" and "doust the liars")

2. (South Africa) Expressing sympathy.

   Shame, you poor thing, you must be cold!

Derived terms

Etymology 2

From Middle English schamen, from Old English s?amian, from Proto-West Germanic *skam?n, from Proto-Germanic *skam?n?.

Verb

shame (third-person singular simple present shames, present participle shaming, simple past and past participle shamed)

1. (transitive) To cause to feel shame.

   • Were there but one righteous in the world, he would […] shame the world, and not the world him.

2. To cover with reproach or ignominy; to dishonor; to disgrace.
3. (transitive) To drive or compel by shame.

4. (obsolete, intransitive) To feel shame, be ashamed.
5. (obsolete, transitive) To mock at; to deride.

   • Ye have shamed the counsel of the poor, because the Lord is his refuge.

Synonyms

• (to cause to feel shame): demean, humiliate, insult, mortify

Antonyms

• (to cause to feel shame): honor, dignify

Derived terms

• ashamed
• beshame
• (sense: to cause to feel shame) creep-shame
• name and shame

Translations

References

• shame in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.

Anagrams

• Hames, Shema, ahems, haems, hames, heams