Talk:humble

I seen and understand the word humble ..I have ask a associate to be humble . He ask me to tell him the meaning.

I shared with him to be teachable . or listen with out interuption .

Someone said it best..... for anyone that might think they know it all. TO swallow ones Pride. To admit your fault or any wrong doing you have created.

Taking the position of someone able to not only hear but... be able to listen and understand you don't have all the answers.

Understanding that we all have faults and some times it better to be humble and to show your strength without putting some one down... verbally or physical ...without a confrontation. able to turn your cheek to other it is your choice.

NOW are we humble enough to listen to each other.

Rick Montes 1-3-2008

to be humble, is to be great.

as some have egos so big, that even a giant would fear.

but we must remember that we are all the same and we must not let are greed and selfish take control of us.

be humble because to be humble, is to be great.

Vivien Ruth 8-13-2021

RFV discussion: September–October 2021

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humble

Rfv-sense "near the ground". Possibly a nonce word ("nonce sense"? lol) from Charlotte's Web. BTW, @Fytcha, it's a very well-known book in the US. Ultimateria (talk) 16:21, 13 September 2021 (UTC)

Thanks. Let's hope I didn't make a fool of myself.

If it is decided to keep this sense, then we should verify the corresponding translation box. Right now, the order of the translation boxes and definitions does not match, which may be the reason why it contains wrong translations (German (einfach, bescheiden) is definitely wrong and I'm fairly confident that so are Dutch (bescheiden modest) and Norwegian (beskjeden)). Maybe it would also help to clarify that it really refers to the literally spatial configuration, not to some figurative interpretation. --Fytcha (talk) 16:33, 13 September 2021 (UTC)

I suppose the Charlotte's Web text might be referring to the literal etymology rather than the English meaning. Equinox ◑ 21:18, 13 September 2021 (UTC)

In any case, the quotation from Charlotte's Web is a mention, not a use. OED has two relevant senses, "of local situation: low-lying, not elevated" (obsolete; quotations between the 16th and 18th centuries), and "of plants: low-growing" (quotations between 17th and 19th centuries). — SGconlaw (talk) 21:36, 13 September 2021 (UTC)

@Sgconlaw:, How about giving us the actual quotations so we can call this cited? Kiwima (talk) 23:30, 13 September 2021 (UTC)

My investigations show that any similarity between the first translation label and sense 3 is accidental and should be ignored. Details:
    Until 30 September 2016 there were these two senses:

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 oneself; claiming little for oneself; not proud, arrogant, or assuming; modest.

The wording of the first sense was a verbatim copy of the first sense in an online version of Webster's 1913 Dictionary.^[1] It is not clear if this is meant to be a mix of objective and subjective senses, or if “near the ground” is figurative. Was the lexicographer bitten by the etymological fallacy bug? The Cowley quote seems ambiguous, but if illustrating “near the ground” in a literal sense, it is annoyingly pleonastic – of course a nest built on the ground is near the ground, duh! In any case, there were two corresponding translation tables, tersely labelled near the ground and thinking lowly of one's self. The translations in the first table did all fit the sense “not pretentious”.
    On 30 September 2016 the definitions “Near the ground” and “not high or lofty“ were removed and the first sense was changed to:

1. not pretentious or magnificent; unpretending; unassuming

   He lives in a humble one-bedroom cottage.

   Thy humble nest built on the ground. -Cowley.

The labels of the translation tables were wonderfoolishly left unchanged and thus the edit broke the link between the first label and the definition of the corresponding sense.
    Then, on 9 April 2020, the sense “Near the ground” was re-added, citing the mention from Charlotte’s Web. (Charlotte is a Web-ster.) Again, the translation labels were not touched. I rest my case.  --Lambiam 19:53, 14 September 2021 (UTC)

@Kiwima See NED, senses 2b and 2c. The modern OED online entry for these two senses is entirely identical, in case that helps to dispel any FOMO. This, that and the other (talk) 06:57, 15 September 2021 (UTC)

RFV-failed Kiwima (talk) 20:47, 15 October 2021 (UTC)