From Proto-Indo-European*dʰǵʰemelo-, whence also Ancient Greek χθαμαλός(khthamalós, “near the ground”) and Latin humilis(“low”). Same Proto-Indo-European root gave both the nouns for "man" and "earth" (Proto-Indo-European*dʰéǵʰōm); compare Latin homō(“human being, man”) and humus(“ground, soil”), and similar semantic shift occurring in Semitic languages: Hebrew אָדָם(adám, “man”), אדמה(adamá, “soil”).