Paul Cantrell
I am immensely puzzled by the (recent, I think?) usage of “humbled.” The word means, according to my dictionary, “lowered in dignity or importance.” But people use it to mean the •opposite• of humbled, e.g. “I am humbled to receive this prize.”
I don’t think that means the prize is so awful that receiving it is degrading?? Instead, the word appears to mean “honored, but with a magic incantation that makes me not arrogant.” Is that all that’s going on here? Is there semantic nuance I’m missing?
Paul Cantrell
People seem to mean it graciously, but there’s a vague air of double-speak about it that really rubs me the wrong way.
[Insert “old man yells at cloud” gif here]
Paul Cantrell
At heart I am a language descriptivist, and understand that language changes. But that won’t stop me from mourning the losses of along that way.
I’m still surly about “literally” no longer reliably meaning “non-figuratively.” That was a super useful word.
Jenniferplusplus
@inthehands I take it to mean "with humility". Which, yes, is a sort of incantation against arrogance.
Paul Cantrell
Yeah, what @lenny_wonders says fits the sense I get.
I think I’m hung up on the idea that people use it to mean “I •already have• a sense of humility, and receiving this feels incongruous” — whereas what the word meant until very recently is, “this •made me• smaller.” One would be “humbled” by a severe reprimand, not a prize.
https://social.treehouse.systems/@lenny_wonders/112616045094380614
Paul Cantrell
@Karstan
Yeah. I think the ship had sailed on “jealous” long before I was born. At least we still have its etymological cousin “zealous,” which sometimes suffices.
Darmok On The Ocean
@inthehands Extremely same. My own special heartbreak is the use of "jealous" when a person means "envious" (and vice versa). But alas, as you point out: languages evolve.
Paul Cantrell
@Cyrus
Oh, same in the US. It is specifically the use of “humbled,” as opposed to all the other phrases you mention, that lands strangely for me.
Mage Moss (trying it on)
@inthehands I think it is traditional (at least among European descendants) to debase oneself when honored. “I am not worthy”, “my team deserves the credit, not me”, “God did this”, etc.
Ruth Malan
@inthehands so… used like “imposter” but … and … any humility is “complicated”… by who benefits from being humble and who is penalized…
I learned a lot from @abebab’s essay
https://abebabirhane.wordpress.com/2018/12/16/humility-is-a-luxury-the-privileged-can-afford/
Paul Cantrell
@RuthMalan @abebab
Indeed. Questions of humility and acknowledging the team aside, it’s just this specific word that sounds strange to my ears.
Ruth Malan
@inthehands uummmm… I thiiiink it is used (and I have used it) in the sense of “in this company, i find myself in wonderment at my inclusion; it makes me all the more aware of my respect for these people I have been included with, and by; and i feel my lacks in the contrast even more keenly!”
Emile Snyder
@inthehands it's funny, this usage change you note and the "literally" shift don't really bug me, but every time I hear "beg the question" used to mean "raise the question" I die a little inside.
Paul Cantrell
@esnyder
Same. Almost as bad as “foo dot com backslash bar.”
Paul Cantrell
@Cyrus
I mean…no, I don’t. I think it means “already feeling lower in dignity in importance [than this honor implies].”
Older usage would be things like “the arrogant sinner was humbled by God’s retribution.” That’s why it rings funny to my ears, I think.
Mage Moss (trying it on)
@inthehands Right but you see how that directly means “lowered in dignity or importance”?
Paul Cantrell
@Cyrus
Oh yes, all that I understand and agree with. It’s just the muddled meaning of this specific word that’s under my skin.
Mage Moss (trying it on)
@inthehands Eh, only a few ascetics and submissives go around regularly thinking “I am but a worm.” Most people want to be thought of as important or valued. But we’re also taught not to be a “tall poppy” or a teacher’s pet, lest we become a target. So receiving an honor is simultaneously a thrill and a trigger to suddenly declare humility.
Peter Binkley
@inthehands for me it's "incredible" meaning "really really good", when credibility is the issue, as it usually is these days - "X's incredible reporting on Y" 😕🤔🙄
Paul Cantrell
@pbinkley
I think that ship, along with “awesome” not meaning “inspiring awe and fear,” sailed long before I was born.
Paul Cantrell
@crazybutable @lenny_wonders
I do love the full OED. What’s the 1380 example?
John Wilson
The earliest verb form of humbled in the sense of “I have been struck down by an external force” is Shakespeare, 1591
But! The verb form of humbled in the sense of “I am bringing myself low” is actually from 1380! It’s the earliest sense of the word!
🤯
This is fascinating because inventing the dynamic sense of an external event forcing humility upon a person, is very Shakespeare.
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