late 14c., from humble (adj.) + -ness. Wyclif's word; Chaucer uses the Frenchified humblesse.
Entries linking to humbleness
humble adj.
late 13c., of persons, "submissive, respectful, lowly in manner, modest, not self-asserting, obedient," from Old French humble, umble, earlier umele, from Latin humilis "lowly, humble," literally "on the ground," from humus "earth" (from PIE root *dhghem- "earth"). From late 14c., of things, "lowly in kind, state, condition, or amount," also, of persons, "of low birth or rank." Related: Humbly.
Don't be so humble; you're not that great. [Golda Meir]
-ness
word-forming element denoting action, quality, or state, attached to an adjective or past participle to form an abstract noun, from Old English -nes(s), from Proto-Germanic *in-assu- (cognates: Old Saxon -nissi, Middle Dutch -nisse, Dutch -nis, Old High German -nissa, German -nis, Gothic -inassus), from *-in-, originally belonging to the noun stem, + *-assu-, abstract noun suffix, probably from the same root as Latin -tudo (see -tude).