“modesty” 指“谦虚;谦逊”,也可指“端庄得体(不过分暴露或张扬)”。最常见用法是形容人不自夸、不过度表现自己。
/ˈmɒdɪsti/
She accepted the award with modesty.
她谦虚地接受了这个奖项。
Despite his enormous success, he spoke about his achievements with genuine modesty, crediting his team for most of the work.
尽管他取得了巨大的成功,他仍以真诚的谦逊谈论自己的成就,把大部分功劳归于团队。
“modesty” 来自拉丁语 modestus,意为“有分寸的、克制的、适度的”,与“保持适度、不过度”有关。后来进入法语并传入英语,逐渐发展出“谦虚”和“端庄得体”等含义。