Humiliate
/hjuːˈmɪlieɪt/noun
To make someone feel ashamed or foolish.
Did you know?Humiliate comes from Latin humiliare, from humilis meaning “low” or “on the ground,” ultimately tied to humus, “earth” — so the word began as a physical descent before becoming social shame.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*dhghem-
“earth, ground”
Latin
Latin
humus
“the ground, soil, earth”
Latin
Latin
humilis
“low, lowly, humble; literally “on the ground””
Late Latin
Latin
humiliare
“to make low, humble”
16th Century
English
humiliate
“to lower in condition or status; later, to shame or mortify”