politeness - What is the meaning of "I am humbled by XYZ"?


From a recent article on CNN:



Aboukhadijeh, who is from Sacramento, California, said he’s been blown away by how quickly his tool went viral and is grateful for all the supportive feedback.


“I’m amazed and humbled by all the attention it’s received. So thank you,” he said.



Using an entry derived from the American Heritage Dictionary for online reference, The Free Dictionary gives their definition of humbled as:



humbled


hum·ble (hŭm′bəl)


adj. hum·bler, hum·blest



  1. Marked by meekness or modesty in behavior, attitude, or spirit; not arrogant or prideful.

  2. Showing deferential or submissive respect: a humble apology.

  3. Low in rank, quality, or station; unpretentious or lowly: a humble cottage.


tr.v. hum·bled, hum·bling, hum·bles



  1. To cause to feel humble: “He was humbled by the lack of consolation in Kornblum’s expression” (Michael Chabon).

  2. To cause to have a lower condition or status; abase.



[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin humilis, low, lowly, from humus, ground; see dhghem- in Indo-European roots.]



CITATION: humbled. (n.d.) American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. (2011). Retrieved August 20 2017 from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/humbled




None of these definitions seems to apply:



  1. Being the author of something that is widely appreciated would seem to be cause for pride, rather than to curtail or destroy it.

  2. His “modesty” — or expectation that he would only have a small audience for his work — seems to be a pre-existing condition that is merely revealed by the event, not something that is caused by the event.

  3. He created a tool that was rapidly used and appreciated by many, with the result being that he found himself in a higher condition or station than he was before.


Is there a subtlety I’m missing here?



Answer



Merriam-Webster's online dictionary lists humbled as "To make humble". Humble is listed as



not proud or haughty : not arrogant or assertive



which makes a little more sense.


Still though, it's not exactly the clearest of constructions.


I think he's expressing the feeling that the tool and the community surrounding it have become bigger than himself, and he feels lower in station than all the people who took the time to promote/use the tool he wrote.


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