Our world is full of dishonesty. Lies abound, deception is everywhere. I don't think you would disagree. Humanity has experienced the realities of dishonesty since the Garden of Eden.
Yet... have we ever stopped to think about whether the meaning we have today of the word "dishonest", is the same as the meaning it once had?
Does it mean, what we think it means?
I had certainly never even thought it would have had any meaning different from the current meaning. Yet, I was in for a surprise recently, that resulted in a mimi-research project, which some of you participated in and have been waiting for this blog post!
If you want to know what I discovered, keep reading…...
The Current 21st Century meaning
If you asked anyone in this 21st Century, what this word meant, the answer you would probably hear is the meaning I assumed it had: to not tell the truth.
Or you might be told a slightly more descriptive answer like what appears as the 1st listed definition is in the "American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language" (or also used in the 'Free Dictionary' online). It comes up on my 'Google' search…. saying:
"Disposed to lie, cheat, defraud, or deceive."
However, that same dictionary entry gave a 2nd and 3rd meaning.
The 2nd was:
`Resulting from or marked by a lack of honesty.'
which would be assumed from the prefix of 'dis' in the word.
The 3rd meaning was the one that was the most interesting and surprising, and caught my attention:
"Dishonorable; shameful; indecent; unchaste; lewd"
Well, you might say, dishonesty is of course a dishonourable way to be, so that description could be understandable. But to give the actual alternative definition of "dishonest" as being 'shameful, indecent, unchaste or lewd', seems far removed from any use of the word today.
Before I reveal more of my further little bit of research and how I came to even find this, I want to list for you some other definitions of 'dishonest' in other online dictionaries.
Collins Dictionary: "not honest or fair, deceiving, or fraudulent"
Cambridge Dictionary: "not honest"…because this was so simple in its definition I took a look at their definition of "honest", which was: "telling the truth or able to be trusted and not likely to steal, cheat or lie"
Dictionary.com gave two definition options: 1. "not honest; disposed to lie, cheat, or steal; not worthy of trust or belief" 2. "proceeding from or exhibiting lack of honesty; fraudulent"
Mirriam-Webster gave three options: 1. misleading 2. fraudulent 3. false
So it is clear from the above lists, what is the common 21st Century understanding of the word 'dishonest', at least at an official level.
To help gather appropriate data for my mini-research that arose from this word-surprise, I availed myself of English speaking friends and contacts across the world from 5 continents (Australia, Asia, America, Africa, Europe…sorry I don't know of any penguins in Antarctica who speak English!)
The replies that came back were remarkably similar, for example:
UK/Europe - "not being truthful"; "not sticking to the truth"; "knowingly giving an answer that is not truthful or honest for the purpose of deceiving or evading the truth"; "deceitful intentional lying"
America - "not telling the truth"; "lack of integrity"; "not being truthful, deceiving"; "not honest, not telling/representing the whole truth"; "speak or live in such a way that gives other the impression that is contrary to what is actual…"
Australia - "mis-representing the truth"; "not truthful"; "speak or act in a way that conceals the truth"; "giving an answer you know it not true"; "to deliberately lead another person to an incorrect (untrue according to the beliefs of the person doing the deceiving) conclusion - with intention to deceive"
Africa - "not telling what is true"; not being truthful"; "not telling the truth about a certain question or situation"; "untruthful, lies, deceitful; misleading"; "not being transparent or not telling the truth"; "not being honest, truthful; not being sincere"; "rejecting the truth and embracing lies"; "to not be truthful or straight-forward with someone"; "without integrity"; "deliberate action to withhold or hide the information...failing to disclose or communicate information about a specific subject matter to another…acting in a manner that violates an agreement with another"; "unfaithfulness, cannot rely on, no back bone".
Asia - "covering or even distorting the truth", "a conscious thought or act of not being true in words or deeds"
The common thread in almost all these replies is that dishonesty is the opposite of telling the truth. There seems to be a fairly much 21st Century global consensus on this kind of meaning. This also reflects the majority of the definitions from various dictionaries listed above.
So far, so good and all is consistent.
A few respondents also emphasised that 'intent' to deceive was also a significant aspect of dishonesty and others gave some words inferring lack of ability to be trusted.
However, a few replies added some additional interesting explanations, which I will refer to later.
Unexpected Meaning
….SO that brings me to that third definition in that first dictionary above which said to be dishonest is to be:
"Dishonorable; shameful; indecent; unchaste; lewd"
I had never heard—definitively or by nuance—a meaning of 'dishonest' which included the word 'dishonourable' as a direct definition, let alone including words like shameful, indecent, unchaste or lewd!
However, for an official dictionary to put in a definition, it is not merely some obscure or inconsequential notation.
Thus, another element in my mini-research project on this word, then involved going not just to the dictionary but having a look at the etymology of the word. I wanted to find out where this additional meaning came from, not least because it suddenly moved the meaning from one category of meaning to another. It moved it from truth and raw facts to the context of honour in relationships (which is also linked with the concepts of "unfaithfulness" that some respondents gave).
Historical Meaning
I'm not a professional Etymologist, but I do consult the Online Etymology Dictionary quite often. This whole discovery process began with wanting to check something about the word 'shame' in relation to another aspect of my general honour-shame research and writing. I happened to scroll down further than what I must have before, and discovered to my astonishment that further down in the list of other linked or associated words was my surprise!
Now, we must recognise that at this point we are not just looking at the general meaning of the concept, but this is the particular historical meaning and semantics of the specific English word 'Dishonest'.
This is where this mini-research project became very interesting indeed, especially in relation to the issues of honour and shame and that 3rd meaning back in the first Dictionary above.
➤ It seems that our 'modern' meaning of "lack of integrity" or "lack of truth" became the main meaning in the late 16th century. Whereas for hundreds of years before that its meaning was having a somewhat different emphasis:
late 14c., "disgrace, shame, want of honor," from Old French deshonesté (13c., Modern French deshonnéteté) "dishonor, impropriety," from des- (see dis-) + Latin honestatem (nominative honestas) "honorableness," from honestus "honorable; deserving honor, respectable," from honos "honor, dignity, office, reputation," which is of unknown origin. Meaning "want of honesty, lack of integrity," the main modern sense, is recorded from 1590s.
early 14c., "splendor, honor; elegance," later "honorable position; propriety of behavior, good manners; virginity, chastity" (late 14c.), from Old French oneste, honesté "respectability, decency, honorable action" (12c. Modern French uses the variant honnêteté, as if from Latin *honestitatem), from Latin honestatem (nominative honestas) "honor received from others; reputation, character;" figuratively "uprightness, probity, integrity, virtue," from honestus (see honest). Meaning "moral purity, uprightness, virtue, justness" is from c. 1400; in English, the word originally had more to do with honor than honest.
The "AI Overview" response on a Google search gave "The word honest comes from the Latin word honestus, which means "honourable" or "respected". The word honest was first recorded in the Middle English period (1150-1500)"
It makes some sense to think that the word "honour" and the word "honest" might have been associated at one time - a link which seems to have been long lost in the course of time.Etymology:From Middle English onest, from Anglo-Norman oneste, from Old French oneste, from Latin honestus, from the root onur, meaning "honor, dignity."Meaning:Having or showing a strong sense of moral principles; honorableHaving or showing integrity and uprightnessWorthy of respect or admiration
It makes sense that the contexts and meaning of truth and integrity grew out of the earlier meaning and contexts of honour.
In Anthropological demarcations discussed in our modern 21st century world we might be inclined to see honesty and honour as having differing emphases between guilt-innocence emphasis cultural contexts and honour-shame emphasis cultural contexts. However, while there is a definite strong emphasis on the truth/honesty side in the Western world, seeing it as a separate or alternative perspective is to detach it from its root meaning and context.
So it seems that…..
...Honesty was never something only related to truth on its own. Honesty is rooted in a greater concept, one that has been minimised, especially in recent centuries of the Western world. This has in turn impacted perceived meaning across the globe.
A Meaning Migration - Not just a Semantic Shift but a Cultural Shift
Words and language are not static. They are dynamic and fluid. Language is governed more by the community context in which it is used than by fixed laws of meaning. And meaning can change as cultural contexts change over time. However, this word is one which I didn't realised had 'shifted' so significantly. Semantic shifts come about because of the changing culture and thus also demonstrate what the changes are in a culture.
The semantic shift of 'honest' and 'dishonest' clearly tell us that we have become quite un-tethered from the original meaning of the word - both in its Latin roots and its earliest meaning in English.
It also tells us that the English speaking world has over time moved away from a context where life was primarily governed by the motivations and contexts of honour and relationships.
A Magnified and Muddled Moral Meaning
Honesty means more than caring for truth
This also reveals that our morals have also shifted away from the direct context of what is honourable and dishonourable. We have moved to determine our morality more from a facts basis (what is true) rather than from a familial (relationship) basis. This of course is very consistent with more of a law focus rather than a loyalty focus.
This also reveals that although we may put great emphasis on the issue of "truth" (and we should), even in our own English language we see evidence that a word we now associate with having a high view of truth, actually comes from having a high honour standard.
Honesty is rooted in honour.
Honesty begins with honour.
Honesty is not meant to be an alternative to honour.
Honesty grows out of honour, and comes from within honour.
Honesty is more than just our modern day meaning which mostly limits it to 'not specifically speaking the truth', to include issues of integrity, decency, and life lived, not just words spoken.
In our modern world that so neglects truth and has redefined truth, we might be inclined to think that to put the world aright we need to return to truth. And so we do. But more than that, we need to return to a deeper ethic, which is proper honour.
Honesty can't flourish outside of the greater context and need for God-glorifying honour.
Honesty's meaning is muddled and distorted by our sinful world
Not only does Satan want our understanding of honesty to be detached from its deep and rich root meanings so as to cheat us from understanding the core motives of our hearts and the full goal for our lives, but he also wants to muddle, twist, and distort the meaning into ways which trap us rather than liberate us. He comes to steal life rather than give life. He comes to shrink great and transformative meaning that would bless and grow us, to strip us of any hope of learning or discovering any greater meaning, and to strangle us with dishonourable false meaning. He doesn't care if we think dishonesty doesn't include 'white lies' or if we detach it from the root context of honour. Whatever his means, he just wants to cheat us from the real meaning.
Above, I mentioned that a few respondents gave slightly more extensive answers. Some of their definitions were actually explanations, because, for them, honesty and dishonesty were not simply 'truth' matters but relationship matters. It was interesting to see that these extra 'honour' related honesty definitions almost all came from non-Western respondents - in Africa and Asia (+ one from Europe which is slightly less 'Western' anyhow).
Here are some of their answers:
Dishonest is:
"not being transparent or not telling the truth due to the desire to appear smart and or due to a fear of being judged or criticised"
"…since ancient times dishonesty was used as a means for survival, whether to gain approval, take advantage or simply get away from things that migh harm the self or one's honour"
"…people want to be polite and don't want to hurt others with the truth so they are trying to be a bit dishonest (if that is possible) in order to please the person…perhaps in conjunction with "flattering"…"
"hiding my true self and feelings to please others…hiding my true feelings and needs because I'd be afraid of disappointing others or facing criticism..telling white lies to avoid conflict or make others happy"
"sometimes it happens as a result of fear; lack of confidence to stand for what is right; at times because one is biased; choosing to lie just to be in good books with another person who is in the wrong; at times it might be to seize some opportunity at hand; at times it might be that one is naturally self-centered; grabbing anything falsely at the expense of others, taking advantage of simple beings. At times it may be to protect your own image or the image of a loved one, or a family name or organisation."
(underlining emphasis mine)
These respondents, although also acknowledging the truth connection to "dishonesty", went quickly to engage the word in an honour context. They revealed the way our sinful hearts and fallen cultures distort reality and even reverse our understanding of reality.
Unlike the modern definition, they still knew that honesty is not detached from honour. However, instead of 'dishonesty' being 'dishonourable' as its original word meaning was, Satan's own dishonourable dishonesty has tricked so many in our world into thinking that being dishonest is the route to saving and gaining honour!
Restored Meaning
However, as Christians, although our cultural awareness can alert us to wider possible meanings, we need to get back to a biblical meaning.
When we read Scripture rightly we will see that 'honesty' is truly rooted in honour in the context of relationships, and thus dishonesty is rooted in dishonour in the context of relationships. The Bible is full of examples of lies that impacted relationships whether that be Abraham not being honest about his true relationship with Sarah, his wife (Genesis 12; 20), or Ananias and Sapphira trying to gain some kind of honourable status in the church by lying about how much they were giving (Acts 5).
In fact in Exodus 20:16 where we have in the 10 commandments, what we often abbreviate to 'do not lie', is actually phrased in relationship honour terms of: "you shall not bear false witness against your neighbour". Ephesians 4:25 similarly says: "let each one of you speak truth with his neighbour, for we are members one of another". John Piper refers to this important relationship context in this article about truth and lies. Dishonesty might tempt us to think it can actually honour others or ourselves to save their or our image, however, in reality it ultimately damages them (and us) and the relationships we all have.
Here are some more examples of "truth" being in Scripture as more than simply 'telling the truth' but having an honour context:
- John tells us in his gospel (1:14) in describing Jesus that his "glory" [honour] was full of "grace and truth". Truth is an expression and display of true glory and honour.
- In Romans 1, where people suppress the truth and exchange the truth for a lie, it is in the context of a main problem of people "do not honour God as God…" (1:21). In Romans 3:7, we are told that "…God's truth abounds to his glory" - truth isn't the end-goal, glory is.
- 2 John 4, and 3 John 3, both speak of "walking in truth" which implies something more than just speaking truth, but walking or living an honourable lifestyle that interacts with others in a manner that exemplifies integrity and truth.
- In 2 Peter 2:2 we see that an ungodly lifestyle results in "truth" being "blasphemed" (or as some other translations put it: maligned, slandered, defamed, brought into disrepute or dishonour). In fact the Greek word βλασφημέω translated as "blasphemed" is a combination of two root words that mean to "harm" "reputation". In other words to bring dishonour or shame.
Honesty isn't something that should be defined from either twisted, reversed, or incomplete cultural-shift perspectives. Honesty also doesn't merely come from desiring to speak truth, but from desiring to honour and please the One who is The Truth, and who loves truth, and thus loves to be honoured with truth, and loves it when we honour others with the truth. Because such truth honours God.
Let us live as God's children who are honourably honest.
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