WordWeight : Weighing the Words

Pronunciation : Hu*mil"i*ty
Part of Speech : n.;
Etymology : [OE. humilite, OF. humilit?, humelit?, F. humilit?, fr. L. humiliatis. See Humble.]
Definition : 1. The state or quality of being humble; freedom from pride and arrogance; lowliness of mind; a modest estimate of one's own worth; a sense of one's own unworthiness through imperfection and sinfulness; self-abasement; humbleness. Serving the Lord with all humility of mind. Acts xx. 19.

2. An act of submission or courtesy. With these humilities they satisfied the young king. Sir J. Davies.

Syn. -- Lowliness; humbleness; meekness; modesty; diffidence. -- Humility, Modesty, Diffidence. Diffidence is a distrust of our powers, combined with a fear lest our failure should be censured, since a dread of failure unconnected with a dread of censure is not usually called diffidence. It may be carried too far, and is not always, like modesty and humility, a virtue. Modesty, without supposing self-distrust, implies an unwillingness to put ourselves forward, and an absence of all over-confidence in our own powers. Humility consists in rating our claims low, in being willing to waive our rights, and take a lower place than might be our due. It does not require of us to underrate ourselves.

pl. Humilities.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913