Modesty is the characteristic of one or that who is modest : that is, who is humble . The term has its etymological roots in the Latin language .
For example: "The actor once again demonstrated his modesty when he stopped his car to assist another driver who had suffered a mechanical accident in his vehicle," "He was a man of astonishing modesty, who never boasted of his achievements," " The modesty of the room did not bother her: the young woman felt comfortable in that place .
When the term is applied to a person, it refers to their lack of arrogance or petulance . The modest individual behaves within certain limits and does not appear vain or arrogant.
Let's take the case of a very famous singer who is usually invited to participate in the most watched TV programs and who appears on the covers of the best-known magazines and newspapers. This artist, beyond his enormous popularity, does not hesitate to talk to a group of students for an interview that will be published in a school newspaper . With this attitude , the star's modesty is evident, as she does not place conditions or demands when providing notes.
If someone pretends to be modest, even though they really are not, it is called false modesty . In reality, these individuals are arrogant but they try to mask their posture by trying to exhibit a modesty that they do not have.
While the term modesty is often used in everyday speech, it generally appears in two extreme situations: to praise this virtue in someone who actually possesses it; to make fun of someone's lack of modesty through a sarcastic phrase. In the first case we could say "I was really surprised by his modesty, since I had heard that he was quite a superb guy" ; Regarding the second, on the other hand, "Well, I see that this man exudes modesty from his pores... Don't let them get clogged."
Below we will see some of the most common synonyms, divided into three lists to refer to their three main meanings. For the meaning that denotes absence of vanity, we have the following: humility , simplicity, shyness, sobriety, insignificance and smallness . These are the nuances that we most commonly give to the term in popular language, when we talk about a modest person. Its antonyms are presumption, ostentation and immodesty .
When, on the other hand, the word modesty refers to the category of a thing, or to its importance or economic level, denoting its scarcity, we can use some of the following synonyms: moderation , temperance and poverty . This meaning is the second most used and we can see it in the following sentences: "The hotel was modest but we were very comfortable," "Don't expect anything out of this world, the reception will be modest."
Finally we come to the third main meaning, which refers to modesty, modesty , decorum and honesty of a person. According to the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy, this is usually used especially to describe women, given the sexist conception that we have regarding people's behavior, which varies in its degree of severity depending on their sex. A man is expected to be hardworking, and infidelity in marriage is forgiven; of a woman, who takes care of the house and raises the children, and if she is unfaithful she is considered low, indecent, her reputation is stained forever.
Lastly, it is known as "Modesty" , a work by the sculptor Antonio Corradini (1688-1752). This is a marble sculpture that is currently located in the Sansevero Chapel in the city of Naples .