USURP – What Does It Really Mean?

I like words.  Words, and their meanings, and how those meanings can change over time (or not), all fascinate me.

Language is fluid, always changing.   Sometimes I like that fact, and sometimes I don’t.  Sometimes I like the way a word was used in that past, but not so much the new use of that word.  More often, I like the newer uses for words, and especially brand new words.

Words are added and meanings changed all the time.  We mostly take this for granted.  Here are just a few of the more recent new words/uses:

Snowflake, awesomesauce, binge-watch, bling, clickbait, fomo, frenemy, humblebrag, jeggings, meh, overshare, ping, staycation, sheeple, tweet, and word salad. 

Did you know that “awful” used to mean “full of awe”?  And now it means “horrible”.

Or “livid”?  It used to refer to a COLOR – sort of slate, or a gray-blue.

Here’s a fun one:  “fizzle” used to mean the act of producing quiet flatulence!  Now it means to die out or fail.

And “girl” used to mean a child of either sex:  In The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer says of the summoner, “In daunger hadde he at his owene gise/ The yonge girles of the diocise.” In modern English, that’s, “In his own power had he, and at ease/ Young people of the entire diocese.”   (http://mentalfloss.com/article/61876/11-words-meanings-have-changed-drastically-over-time)

One of my pet peeves though, is when a word is misused or misapplied, simply to try and make a point.  This practice quite often will result in arguing about the WORD itself instead of the ISSUE that the word is applied to.

Sometimes we will latch onto a powerful, button pushing word that has a generally negative connotation just to try and bolster our argument. 

We change the meaning to support our viewpoint.

USURP is one such word.  In Christian circles, this word is often used to try and define leadership roles.

***** This post is NOT going to get into who should have leadership roles in the church!! ***** 

That’s another post for another day.    

Today, I just want to talk about what the word “usurp” actually means.

Let’s start with a formal, dictionary definition.  Pretty much any dictionary you consult will give you the same definition. 

Let’s go with http://www.merriam-webster.com:

usurp verb \ yu̇-ˈsərp also -ˈzərp \

usurped; usurping; usurps

Definition of usurp

transitive verb

1a : to seize and hold (office, place, functions, powers, etc.) in possession by force or without right usurp a throne

b : to take or make use of without right usurped the rights to her life story

2 : to take the place of by or as if by force : supplant must not let stock responses based on inherited prejudice usurp careful judgment

intransitive verb

: to seize or exercise authority or possession wrongfully

Did you know there is a King James (Bible) Version dictionary??  I didn’t.  But here’s the definition of “Usurp” from the KJV dictionary, a source that many who misuse this word to support a King James meaning will pay attention to. 

KJV Dictionary Definition: usurp

Usurp USURP’, v.t. s as z. L. usurpo.

“To seize and hold in possession by force or without right; as, to usurp a throne; to usurp the prerogatives of the crown; to usurp power. To usurp the right of a patron, is to oust or dispossess him.”

Here are some things that USURP does not mean:

• Teaching others
• Speaking
• Encouraging
• Serving
• Explaining a viewpoint
• Taking a leadership role because you’ve been asked to by those in authority
• Leading in a situation where one has not force-ably removed anyone from their rightful position of power

Usurp simply means to forcefully seize power and authority from someone who rightfully holds that position already.

My research into the word “usurp” has shown that this is the only way this word has been used, over time.

It seems pretty obvious, but I’ll say it anyway: One can be in a leadership role without usurping anyone or anything.

In fact, leadership RARELY involves usurping.

And that’s basically all I wanted to talk about today.  

If you believe that “usurp” has a different meaning, now or in the past, I’d love to hear from you.

Until next time…