The term tzniut (Hebrew: , tzniut, Sephardi pronunciation, tzeniut(h); Ashkenazi pronunciation, tznius, "modesty", or "privacy") is used within Judaism, and has its greatest influence as a concept within Orthodox Judaism. It is used to describe both the character trait of modesty and humility, as well as a group of Jewish laws pertaining to conduct in general, and especially between the sexes. The term is frequently used with regard to the rules of dress for women.
Humility is a paramount ideal within Judaism. Moses is referred to as "exceedingly humble, more than any man in the world" (Book of Numbers 12:3), though the adjective used of Moses is anav (ענו), and not tzana (צָנַע), the cognate of the noun tzniut. The verb tzana "to be humble" occurs in Proverbs 11:2 and, (in the hiphil), "walk humbly" in Micah 6:8.
The Talmud states that humility is one of the characteristic traits of the Jewish people (Talmud, Tractate Yevamot 79a).
Tzniut includes a group of laws concerned with modesty, in both dress and behavior. In the Babylonian Talmud, Rabbi Elazar Bar Tzadok connected the injunction at Micah 6:8 to "walk humbly (hatzne'a leches) with your God" as referring to modesty and discretion in dress and in behavior (Tractate Sukkah 49b).