humiliate (English)
Where does "humiliate" come from?
The English verb 'humiliate' was borrowed from the Late Latin form 'humiliātus'[1], which served as the perfect passive participle of 'humiliō'[1], meaning 'to abase, humble'[1]. This Latin verb ultimately derives from the adjective 'humilis', meaning 'lowly, humble'[1], built upon the noun 'humus', meaning 'ground, earth, soil'[1].
Full etymology tree
- humiliate (English), 'To cause to be ashamed; to injure the dignity and self-respect of.'
- borrowed humiliatus (Latin), 'humbled; abased; humiliated'
- derived humilio (Latin), 'to humble, to abase'
- derived humilis (Latin), 'mean, without elevation (of language)'
- derived humus (Latin), 'ground, floor'
- inherited *homos (Proto-Italic)
- derived *xomos (Proto-Italic)
- inherited *dʰǵʰomós (Proto-Indo-European)
- derived *dʰéǵʰōm (Proto-Indo-European), 'earth'
- derived **dʰéǵʰoms (Proto-Indo-European)
- derived *dʰéǵʰōm (Proto-Indo-European), 'earth'
- inherited *dʰǵʰomós (Proto-Indo-European)
- derived *xomos (Proto-Italic)
- inherited *homos (Proto-Italic)
- derived humus (Latin), 'ground, floor'
- derived humilis (Latin), 'mean, without elevation (of language)'
- derived humilio (Latin), 'to humble, to abase'
- borrowed humiliatus (Latin), 'humbled; abased; humiliated'
Ancestors
- humiliatus (Latin)
- -ate (English)
- humilis (Latin)
Descendants and derived words
- humiliatable (English)
- humiliatrix (English)
- rehumiliate (English)
Sources
- humiliate (English) - Wiktionary
- humilis (Latin) - Wiktionary
- humiliatus (Latin) - Wiktionary
- humus (Latin) - Wiktionary
- humilio (Latin) - Wiktionary
Updated August 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris