In the mid to late 14th century, the French created the word humble from the latin humilis, meaning “lowly” or “from the earth”. The verb form of the word, according to the Oxford English dictionary, means “to lower someone in dignity or importance.” In the past few months, however, the definition seems to have changed. Now it seems to mean, “Something great just happened to me and I don’t have enough words in my vocabulary to properly express my feelings.” Let’s look at some examples from the past week, shall we?
- “I am extremely grateful and humbled by the opportunity to continue as the head men’s basketball coach at Manhattan College.” – Steve Masiello, upon being told he could keep his job as men’s basketball coach at Manhattan College
- “We are extremely proud and humbled.” – ABBA singer Bjorn Ulvaeus, at a 40th anniversary celebration of the hit song, Waterloo.
- “It was a humbling experience for myself, me being at the peak of my career and doing some great things in this league after my sixth year.” – Desean Jackson, upon signing a 3yr/$24 million contract with the Redskins
- “I am extremely humbled by this honor and look forward to being the head coach and competing for championships both on and off the court.” – Danny Manning upon being named Wake Forest’s men’s basketball coach
- “I’m humbled and I’m truly honored.” Alonzo Mourning, upon hearing he had been elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall-of-Fame.
- “We feel really humbled and fortunate to be part of this.” – Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, upon signing a three-year contract extension.
Correct me if I’m wrong but I’m pretty sure it’s not all that humbling if you: 1) keep your job despite being caught in a lie while trying to get a new job; 2) are being honored for being famous for four decades; 3) are able to keep guaranteed money from your old employer while signing a new deal bringing in even more money from your new employer; 4) hired at a much higher profile and paying job; 5) are being told you’re one of the greatest basketball players of all time; 6) are told you did such a great job by your employer that they want to pay you even more money to stay there for a few more years.
You could point to these statements and think that the abuse and misuse of the word “humbled” is just confined to celebrities with dumb PR people writing their speeches. You would be wrong. Just look on Facebook. Old high school classmates are “humbled” by all the birthday wishes. Work colleagues are “humbled” by some who-gives-a-shit award or promotion they received. Look in the news. Even British schoolgirls are misusing it! “I’m just humbled to think my words may have the potential to resonate and change things too,” said Tara Okeke, upon hearing she made a journalism awards shortlist. British schoolgirls! What’s next? Toddlers? “Daddy, I’m humbled that Santa put toys in my stocking.”
Humbled is a perfectly good word if used properly. There’s no better way to describe being soundly defeated. Here are a few examples where the use of the word “humbled” would be acceptable.
1. Getting trampled by a 1400-pound bull.
2. Getting knocked out with the first punch.
3. Having your army lose to a bunch of emus.
So, the next time you want to share some great news or are honored in any way, do something crazy and say that you feel honored. Say you feel proud. Say you’re excited. Don’t say something that means you have been defeated and, as a result, have no idea what words mean.
Thank you. I’m truly humbled by you taking the time to read this.