Directly from Latin 'humus' (earth), from PIE *dʰéǵʰōm — the dark organic soil from decomposition, kin to 'humble' and 'exhume.'
The organic component of soil, formed by the decomposition of leaves, other plant material, and animal matter by soil microorganisms. The dark, earthy substance that gives fertile soil its rich colour and texture.
From Latin 'humus' (earth, ground, soil), from PIE *dʰéǵʰōm (earth). This is one of the most ancient words in the Indo-European family — the PIE word for earth is reconstructed with confidence from a wide array of daughter languages. The same root gave Greek 'khthōn' (earth), the source of 'chthonic' (of the underworld), and Greek 'khamai' (on the ground), which appears in 'chameleon' (literally 'ground-lion') and 'camomile' (ground-apple). Latin 'humus' also directly generated 'humilis' (lowly, on the ground), from which
The word 'human' may be related to 'humus.' Latin 'homō' (human being) is sometimes connected to 'humus' (earth), making a human literally an 'earth-being' — a creature made from the ground. This parallels the Hebrew 'adam' (man) from 'adamah' (earth, ground) in Genesis. Whether the Latin etymological connection is genuine or folk etymology is debated, but the parallel between 'human/humus' and 'adam/adamah' — two independent traditions