English
modesty
Modesty comes from Latin modestia ‘moderation, sophrosyne’, and goes back to modestus.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmodestus‘moderate, calm, restrained, mild’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEmodestia‘moderation, sophrosyne’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600modestie
- Englishearliest quotation 1871modesty
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmodestus‘moderate, calm, restrained, mild’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEmodestia‘moderation, sophrosyne’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600modestie
- Englishearliest quotation 1871modesty
Earliest quotation: 1871, Sher Ali Afsos, The Araish-i-Mahfil: “... but the cars of chaste women have either…”
Formed from modest + -y
Proto-Indo-European *med- ‘to measure’
Latin modestus ‘moderate, calm, restrained, mild’
Middle French modeste
English modest
Every English word from Latin modestus
Today it means
noun The quality of being modest; having a limited and not overly high opinion of oneself and one's abilities.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin modestus / modesty