Where does “modesty” come from?
Modesty comes from Middle French modestie, from Middle French modestia, ultimately deriving from Latin roots relating to restraint and propriety.
modesty (English): The quality of being modest; having a limited and...
Definitions
- The quality of being modest; having a limited and...
Ancestry of “modesty”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle French | modestie | — |
| 2 | Latin | modestia | moderation, sophrosyne; modesty |
| 3 | Latin | Modestus | male variant of Modesta |
| 4 | Latin | modestus | moderate, calm, restrained, mild; modest,... |
| 5 | Latin | modus | measure |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | mēd- | to measure |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | med- | to measure; to give advice; healing |
Words derived from “modesty”