LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininethird declension

humilitās

humilitās f (genitive humilitātis)
Classical[hʊˈmɪ.lɪ.taːs]Ecclesiastical[uˈmiː.li.tas]

Meaning

  1. insignificance, lowliness, unimportance
    Magnificat anima mea Dominum, et exsultavit spiritus meus in Deo salutari meo, quia respexit humilitatem ancillae suae.My soul does magnify the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Saviour, because he has regarded the lowliness of his handmaid.c. 347 CE – 420 CE, Hieronymus, Vulgate Lucas.1.46–48
  2. degradation, debasement, humiliation
  3. submissiveness, obedience
  4. post Classicalhumility, modesty
    Humilitas vero nullatenus poterit absque nuditate conquiri.Humility, indeed, can in no way be acquired without nakedness.c. 420 CE, John Cassian, De institutis coenobiorum 12.31

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativehumilitāshumilitātēs
genitivehumilitātishumilitātum
dativehumilitātīhumilitātibus
accusativehumilitātemhumilitātēs
ablativehumilitātehumilitātibus
vocativehumilitāshumilitātēs

hŭmĭlĭtas, ātis, f. humilis,
I. lowness (acc. to humilis, I.).
I. Lit.: naves omnes actuarias imperat fieri, quam ad rem humilitas multum adjuvat (shortly before: naves paulo facit humiliores), Caes. B. G. 5, 1, 3: arborum, Sall. J. 49, 5: aliorum animalium ea est humilitas, ut cibum terrestrem rostris facile contingant, low stature, Cic. N. D. 2 47, 122: sidera multum inter se aut altitudine aut humilitate distantia, id. Tusc. 5, 24, 69: quanta humilitate luna feratur, terram paene contingens, id. Div. 2, 43, 91.—
II. Trop.
A. Of rank, birth, or influence, lowness, meanness, insignificance: malorum turba quaedam, paupertas, ignobilitas, humilitas, solitudo, etc., Cic. Tusc. 5, 10, 29: propter humilitatem et obscuritatem, id. Off. 2, 13, 45: humilitatem cum dignitate contendere, id. Rosc. Am. 47, 136: alicujus despicere, id. Phil. 13, 10, 23: obicere humilitatem alicui, Liv. 26, 31, 4: ex humilitate sua, Caes. B. G. 5, 25: infima natalium, Plin. 18, 6, 7, § 37: generis, Sall. J. 73, 4: generis ac nominis, Suet. Vesp. 4: obliterata quoque scrutabimur, nec deterrebit quarundam rerum humilitas, Plin. 14, 1, 1, § 7.—
B. Littleness of mind, meanness, baseness, abjectness: habet levitatem laetitia gestiens, humilitatem metus, Cic. Tusc. 3, 13, 27; id. de Or. 1, 53, 228: et dejecto (capite) humilitas et supino arrogantia ostenditur, Quint. 11, 3, 69; so, opp. arrogantia, Caes. B. C. 1, 85, 5: saepe virtus et magnificentia plus proficit ad misericordiam commovendam quam humilitas et obsecratio, Cic. Inv. 1, 56, 109: summittere se in humilitatem causam dicentium, Liv. 38, 52, 2: asinorum, Plin. 10, 63, 83, § 180.—
2. In eccl. Lat., in a good sense, opp. to pride, lowness, humility, Lact. 5, 15; Sulp. Sever. Vit. S. Mart. 2 fin. et saep.

Origins

Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-ts Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ts Proto-Italic *-tāts Latin -tās Latin humilitās From humilis (“humble”) + -tās (“-ity”, “-ness”).

Descendants
  • Italianomertàfrom Neapolitan omertà
  • Englishomertàfrom Neapolitan omertà
  • Catalanhumilitat
  • Frenchhumilitéfrom Old French umilitet
  • Englishhumilityfrom Old French umilitet
  • Italianumiltà
  • Occitanumilitat
  • Portuguesehumildadefrom Old Galician-Portuguese humildade
  • Romanianumilitate
  • Spanishhumildadfrom Old Spanish humildat

In English words that came into English from humilitās

  • humilityhumilitās
  • omertàhumilitās

Quick answers

What does humilitās mean in Latin?
humilitās, a noun, means “insignificance, lowliness, unimportance; degradation, debasement, humiliation; submissiveness, obedience”.
What is the genitive of humilitās?
The genitive singular is humilitātis. humilitās is feminine, third declension.
How do you pronounce humilitās?
In classical Latin, [hʊˈmɪ.lɪ.taːs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [uˈmiː.li.tas].