--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have always, privately and humbly…" description: "\"I have always, privately and humbly, thought it a pity that so good a word [as culture] should go out of the best vocabularies; for when you lose an ab..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/870/katharine-fullerton-gerould-13_abstract_i-have-always-privately-and-humbly-thoug_1667416.jpg" --- # I have always, privately and humbly, thought it a pity… ![“I have always, privately and humbly, thought it a pity that so good a word [as culture] should go out of the best vocabularies; for when you lose an abstract term, you are apt to lose the thing it stands for.” quote by Katharine Fullerton Gerould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/870/katharine-fullerton-gerould-13_abstract_i-have-always-privately-and-humbly-thoug_1667416.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/870/katharine-fullerton-gerould-13_abstract_i-have-always-privately-and-humbly-thoug_1667416.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/870/katharine-fullerton-gerould-13_abstract_i-have-always-privately-and-humbly-thoug_1667416.jpg) > “I have always, privately and humbly, thought it a pity that so good a word \[as culture\] should go out of the best vocabularies; for when you lose an abstract term, you are apt to lose the thing it stands for.” [Katharine Fullerton Gerould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-fullerton-gerould/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Losing precise language erodes the concepts it describes, weakening cultural understanding. **In simple terms:** Words shape thought; losing them blurs meaning. Key Takeaway Preserve precise vocabulary. Themes language culture communication Mood reflective concerned Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - education - writing - public discourse - policy making Key Concepts semantics cognitive linguistics Questions to Reflect On - How does vocabulary influence perception? - What words are most at risk today? A Different Perspective Abstract terms can be replaced by jargon, losing nuance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abstract](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Pity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pity/) [Vocabulary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vocabulary/) ## Related quotes > [When I hear the word culture - I release the safety-catch of my Browning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanns-johst/when-i-hear-the-word-culture-i-release-the-safety-catch-of-my-browning/) Hanns Johst > [What’s the best way to build a brand for the long term? In a word: culture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-hsieh/what-s-the-best-way-to-build-a-brand-for-the-long-term-in-a-word/) [Tony Hsieh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-hsieh/) > [“Before the war, the domain of culture seemed to offer a haven from the increasingly hateful world of politics. Now, when I hear the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/before-the-war-the-domain-of-culture-seemed-to-offer-a-haven-from-the/) [Aleksandar Hemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/) > [Whenever I hear the word culture, I reach for my revolve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/whenever-i-hear-the-word-culture-i-reach-for-my-revolve/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Whenever I hear the word culture, I reach for my revolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-goring/whenever-i-hear-the-word-culture-i-reach-for-my-revolver/) [Hermann Goring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-goring/) > [I think that hip-hop should be spelled with a capital "H," and as one word. It's the name of the culture, and it's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krs-one/i-think-that-hip-hop-should-be-spelled-with-a-capital-h-and-as-one-2/) [KRS-One](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krs-one/) > [Whenever I hear the word culture, I reach for my Browning!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-goering/whenever-i-hear-the-word-culture-i-reach-for-my-browning/) [Hermann Goering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-goering/) > [It was play rather than work which enabled man to evolve his higher faculties - everything we mean by the word 'culture'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/it-was-play-rather-than-work-which-enabled-man-to-evolve-his-higher/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [“When I hear the word culture, I reach for my gun”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanns-johst/when-i-hear-the-word-culture-i-reach-for-my-gun/) Hanns Johst > [When I hear the word 'culture', I reach for my checkbook.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/when-i-hear-the-word-culture-i-reach-for-my-checkbook/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [The best definition of the word culture (workplaces included) that I've heard is that it's how people behave when nobody is watching.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwyn-morgan/the-best-definition-of-the-word-culture-workplaces-included-that-i-ve/) Gwyn Morgan > [“When politicians and civil servants hear the word culture they feel for their blue pencils.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-esher/when-politicians-and-civil-servants-hear-the-word-culture-they-feel/) Lionel Esher > [When I hear the word 'culture,' I get out my revolver.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanns-johst/when-i-hear-the-word-culture-i-get-out-my-revolver/) Hanns Johst > [“When I hear the word 'culture' I reach for my pistol.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanns-johst/when-i-hear-the-word-culture-i-reach-for-my-pistol/) Hanns Johst > [I'm pretending I'm okay. Trying to forget that one day I'm going to lose that one thing I fear to live without.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shadow/i-m-pretending-i-m-okay-trying-to-forget-that-one-day-i-m-going-to/) [Shadow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shadow/) ## More by Katharine Fullerton Gerould > [When did the word 'temperament' come into fashion with us? Perhaps it came in when we discovered that artists were human beings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-fullerton-gerould/when-did-the-word-temperament-come-into-fashion-with-us-perhaps-it/) [Katharine Fullerton Gerould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-fullerton-gerould/) > [The insidiousness of science lies in its claim to be not a subject, but a method. You could ignore a subject; no subject is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-fullerton-gerould/the-insidiousness-of-science-lies-in-its-claim-to-be-not-a-subject/) [Katharine Fullerton Gerould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-fullerton-gerould/) > [... if a person is to be unconventional, he must be amusing or he is intolerable: for, in the nature of the case, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-fullerton-gerould/if-a-person-is-to-be-unconventional-he-must-be-amusing-or-he-is/) [Katharine Fullerton Gerould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-fullerton-gerould/) > [The aristocracy most widely developed in America is that of wealth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-fullerton-gerould/the-aristocracy-most-widely-developed-in-america-is-that-of-wealth/) [Katharine Fullerton Gerould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-fullerton-gerould/) > [There are only three things worthwhile -- fighting, drinking, and making love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-fullerton-gerould/there-are-only-three-things-worthwhile-fighting-drinking-and-making/) [Katharine Fullerton Gerould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-fullerton-gerould/) > [ \[Science\] has challenged the super-eminence of religion; it has turned all philosophy out of doors except that which clings to its skirts; it has… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-fullerton-gerould/science-has-challenged-the-super-eminence-of-religion-it-has-turned/) [Katharine Fullerton Gerould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-fullerton-gerould/) > [Culture' means a long receptivity to things of the mind and the spirit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-fullerton-gerould/culture-means-a-long-receptivity-to-things-of-the-mind-and-the-spirit/) [Katharine Fullerton Gerould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-fullerton-gerould/) > [All violations of essential privacy are brutalizing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-fullerton-gerould/all-violations-of-essential-privacy-are-brutalizing/) [Katharine Fullerton Gerould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-fullerton-gerould/) > [I know exaggerators of both kinds: people whose lies are only picturesque adjectives, and people whose picturesque adjectives are only lies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-fullerton-gerould/i-know-exaggerators-of-both-kinds-people-whose-lies-are-only/) [Katharine Fullerton Gerould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-fullerton-gerould/) > [Society, by insisting on conventions, has merely insisted on certain convenient signs by which we may know that a man is considering, in daily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-fullerton-gerould/society-by-insisting-on-conventions-has-merely-insisted-on-certain/) [Katharine Fullerton Gerould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-fullerton-gerould/) > [ We put \[young children\] into kindergarten where their reasoning powers are ruined; or, if we can afford it, we buy Montessori outfits that were… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-fullerton-gerould/we-put-young-children-into-kindergarten-where-their-reasoning-powers/) [Katharine Fullerton Gerould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-fullerton-gerould/) > [... there are some who, believing that all is for the best in the best of possible worlds, and that to-morrow is necessarily better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-fullerton-gerould/there-are-some-who-believing-that-all-is-for-the-best-in-the-best-of/) [Katharine Fullerton Gerould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-fullerton-gerould/) > [... it is one thing to sow your wild oats in talk, and quite another to live by your own kaleidoscopic paradoxes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-fullerton-gerould/it-is-one-thing-to-sow-your-wild-oats-in-talk-and-quite-another-to/) [Katharine Fullerton Gerould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-fullerton-gerould/) > [The indiscreet questioner - and by indiscreet questions I mean questions which it is not conceivably a man's duty either to the community or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-fullerton-gerould/the-indiscreet-questioner-and-by-indiscreet-questions-i-mean/) [Katharine Fullerton Gerould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-fullerton-gerould/) > [You can be slum-born and slum-bred and still achieve something worth while; but it is a stupid inverted snobbishness to be proud of it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-fullerton-gerould/you-can-be-slum-born-and-slum-bred-and-still-achieve-something-worth/) [Katharine Fullerton Gerould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-fullerton-gerould/) [Explore all 52 Katharine Fullerton Gerould quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-fullerton-gerould/) ## More Abstract quotes > [Love is like that, fragile and light. No wonder it rests upon our hearts in intangible moments, bids us follow fleeting thoughts and ideas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-like-that-fragile-and-light-no-wonder-it-rests-upon-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Wisdom is the abstract of the past, but beauty is the promise of the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/wisdom-is-the-abstract-of-the-past-but-beauty-is-the-promise-of-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Where human eyes have never seen, where human beings have never been, I build a world of abstract dreams, and I wait for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-ra/where-human-eyes-have-never-seen-where-human-beings-have-never-been-i/) [Sun Ra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-ra/) > [A little too abstract, a little too wise, It is time for us to kiss the earth again, It is time to let the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robinson-jeffers/a-little-too-abstract-a-little-too-wise-it-is-time-for-us-to-kiss-the/) [Robinson Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robinson-jeffers/) > [“Happy is very abstract, you can't touch it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-veal/happy-is-very-abstract-you-can-t-touch-it/) [Julius Veal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-veal/) > [Abstract Expressionism was invented by New York drunks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/abstract-expressionism-was-invented-by-new-york-drunks/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [The more horrible this world (as today, for instance), the more abstract our art, whereas a happy world brings forth an art of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-klee/the-more-horrible-this-world-as-today-for-instance-the-more-abstract/) [Paul Klee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-klee/) > [Describing comic sensibility is near impossible. It's sort of an abstract silliness, that sometimes the joke isn't the star.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-carvey/describing-comic-sensibility-is-near-impossible-it-s-sort-of-an/) [Dana Carvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-carvey/) > [For people of color - especially African Americans - the idea that racist cops might frame members of their community is no abstract notion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/for-people-of-color-especially-african-americans-the-idea-that-racist/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) > [The word of the Lord never comes to us as an opinion, no attempt is made to support it by argument, it comes as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-w-ivins/the-word-of-the-lord-never-comes-to-us-as-an-opinion-no-attempt-is/) Anthony W. Ivins > [A mobile is an abstract sculpture made chiefly out of sheet metal, steel rods, wire and wood. Some or all of these elements move,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-calder/a-mobile-is-an-abstract-sculpture-made-chiefly-out-of-sheet-metal/) [Alexander Calder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-calder/) > [I'm this superphilosophical kind of person. Stuck in a prison of abstract ideas and overpowering emotions, I have this personality that makes it really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natsuo-kirino/i-m-this-superphilosophical-kind-of-person-stuck-in-a-prison-of/) [Natsuo Kirino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natsuo-kirino/) > [Future lawyers should be more aware that law is not a system of abstract logic, but the web of arrangements, rooted in history but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-frankfurter/future-lawyers-should-be-more-aware-that-law-is-not-a-system-of/) [Felix Frankfurter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-frankfurter/) > [The trouble is that when you read criticisms about the other films that I've made you get the impression that they're all about themes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-haneke/the-trouble-is-that-when-you-read-criticisms-about-the-other-films/) [Michael Haneke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-haneke/) > [Painting is... a richer language than words... 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