Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun High respect, as that shown for special merit; recognition or esteem.
  • noun Great privilege.
  • noun Good name; reputation.
  • noun A source or cause of credit.
  • noun A mark, token, or gesture of respect or distinction, such as a military decoration.
  • noun Public acts or ceremonies showing respect.
  • noun Special recognition for unusual academic achievement.
  • noun A program of advanced study for exceptional students.
  • noun Social courtesies offered to guests.
  • noun High rank.
  • noun Used with His, Her, or Your as a title and form of address for certain officials, such as judges and the mayors of certain cities.
  • noun A sense of principled uprightness of character; personal integrity.
  • noun A code of integrity, dignity, and pride, chiefly among men, that was maintained in some societies, as in feudal Europe, by force of arms.
  • noun A woman's chastity or reputation for chastity.
  • noun Sports The right of being first at the tee in golf.
  • noun Any of the four or five highest cards, especially the ace, king, queen, jack, and ten of the trump suit, in card games such as bridge or whist.
  • noun The points allotted to these cards.
  • transitive verb To hold in respect; esteem.
  • transitive verb To show respect for.
  • transitive verb To confer distinction on.
  • transitive verb To bow to (another dancer) in square dancing.
  • transitive verb To accept or pay as valid.
  • idiom (honor bound) Under an obligation enforced by the personal integrity of the one obliged.
  • idiom (on (one's) honor) Under an obligation enforced by the personal integrity of the one obliged.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To hold in honor; regard with honor; treat with deference; respect; revere; when said of the Supreme Being, to reverence; adore; worship.
  • To bestow honor upon; do or bring honor to; distinguish honorably or respectfully; favor (with) as an honor: as, to honor one with a title.
  • To perform some duty of respect or credit toward: as, to honor an invitation or an introduction; specifically, in com., to accept and pay when due: as, to honor a bill of exchange.
  • noun In golf, the right to play off first from the tee.
  • noun Respect blended with some degree of reverence; esteem due to worth or exalted merit of any kind; deferential approbation or admiration.
  • noun Personal title to high respect or esteem; elevation of character; a controlling sense of what is right, true, and due; probity of feeling and conduct: often applied specifically to loyalty and high courage in men and chastity in women, as virtues of the highest consideration.
  • noun A state, condition, circumstance, or character which confers or attracts high consideration and respect; hence, a person of such condition or character; a source or ground of esteem, respect, or consideration, as elevated rank, dignity, conduct, etc.: as, a post of honor; I have not the honor of his acquaintance; he is an honor to his country.
  • noun Hence That which attracts respect or admiration; distinction; adornment.
  • noun A manifestation or token of esteem; a mark of respect, distinction, or high consideration: as, to do one honor; the honor of knighthood; the honors of war; military honors.
  • noun With a possessive personal pronoun, a deferential title of address or denotation formerly used for men of superior condition generally, but now (except as a mark of servility) restricted in England to the holders of certain offices, particularly judges, including those of the county courts, and in the United States to mayors, judges, and magistrates: as, your honor; his honor the judge.
  • noun In English law, a seigniory of several manors held under one baron or lord paramount.
  • noun In whist, one of the four highest trump-cards. See whist.
  • noun plural Civilities paid; hospitalities or courtesies rendered, as at an entertainment.
  • noun Special rank or distinction conferred by a university, college, or school upon a student for eminence in scholarship or success in some particular subject: usually in the plural.
  • noun In several European armies, a court composed of officers authorized to inquire into and punish all breaches of the principles of honor on the part of officers.
  • noun Under the code or laws of honor, the obligation to demand or grant satisfaction for a wrong or an insult, especially by means of a duel.
  • noun To gain respect for by honorable or laudable action; do something that brings honor or credit to: as, to do honor to one's self, or to one's profession or country.
  • noun Synonyms Fame, Renown, etc. (see glory, n.); repute, consideration, esteem, credit, respect, homage, civility, deference, high-mindedness, nobleness.
  • noun Integrity, Probity, etc.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To regard or treat with honor, esteem, or respect; to revere; to treat with deference and submission; when used of the Supreme Being, to reverence; to adore; to worship.
  • transitive verb To dignify; to raise to distinction or notice; to bestow honor upon; to elevate in rank or station; to ennoble; to exalt; to glorify; hence, to do something to honor; to treat in a complimentary manner or with civility.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

British English honour < Old French honor < Latin honor.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word honor.

Examples

  • "Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially --," 1 Tim.v. 17: whether we take _double honor_ here for reverence or maintenance, or both; yet how can we esteem the _elders ruling well worthy of double honor_ without some submission to their rule?

    The Divine Right of Church Government by Sundry Ministers Of Christ Within The City Of London

  • It isn't money -- it is honor -- _honor_, do you hear?

    One Day A sequel to 'Three Weeks' Anonymous

  • We should honor, love and _obey_ our parents while we are young; and we should still _love_ and _honor_ them when we are older.

    An Explanation of Luther's Small Catechism Joseph Stump

  • _Let them be counted worthy of double honor: _ or, _Let them be dignified with double honor_.

    The Divine Right of Church Government by Sundry Ministers Of Christ Within The City Of London

  • Council-General, -- some of which depositions were upon oath, some upon honor, and others neither upon _oath_ nor _honor_, but all or most of which were of an irregular and irrelevant nature, and not fit or decent to be taken by a British magistrate, or to be transmitted to a British government.

    The Works of the Right Honourable Edmund Burke, Vol. 08 (of 12) Edmund Burke 1763

  • _unworthy_, and dignor, _deem worthy of_; as, -- dignī honōre, _worthy of honor (i.e. in point of honor_); fidē indignī, _unworthy of confidence_; mē dignor honōre, _I deem myself worthy of honor_.

    New Latin Grammar Charles E. Bennett

  • Although his pride was based on no visible achievement, Mahad often used the term honor.

    Nomad Ayaan Hirsi Ali 2010

  • Although his pride was based on no visible achievement, Mahad often used the term honor.

    Nomad Ayaan Hirsi Ali 2010

  • Although his pride was based on no visible achievement, Mahad often used the term honor.

    Nomad Ayaan Hirsi Ali 2010

  • "It's odd to hear the term honor associated with any of this," she said.

    A Shadow in Summer 2006

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.