# Sir Humphrey

> English word · Noun

## Definitions
1. A high-ranking bureaucrat, particularly one who is elitist and deliberately obscure.

## Etymology
From the fictional character Sir Humphrey Appleby, a self-important, Oxford-educated civil servant first depicted in the 1980 premiere of the BBC television series Yes Minister.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/sir-humphrey