honor

English Online Dictionary. What means honor‎? What does honor mean?

English

Alternative forms

• honour (British, Commonwealth, Ireland)

Etymology

From Middle English honour, honor, honur, from Anglo-Norman honour, honur, from Old French honor, from Latin honor.

Displaced Middle English menske (“honor, dignity among men”), from Old Norse menskr (“honor”).

The verb is from Middle English honouren, honuren (“to honor”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈɒn.ə/
• (General American, Canada) IPA^(key): /ˈɑ.nɚ/
• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈɔn.ə/
• Rhymes: -ɒnə(ɹ)

Noun

honor (countable and uncountable, plural honors) (chiefly American spelling)

1. (uncountable) Recognition of importance or value; respect; veneration (of someone, usually for being morally upright or successful).
2. (uncountable) The state of being morally upright, honest, noble, virtuous, and magnanimous; excellence of character; the perception of such a state; favourable reputation; dignity.
3. (countable) A token of praise or respect; something that represents praiseworthiness or respect, such as a prize or award given by the state to a citizen.
4. A privilege (which honors the person experiencing it).

5. (in the plural) The privilege of going first.
   1. (golf) The right to play one's ball before one's opponent.
6. A cause of respect and fame; a glory; an excellency; an ornament.

7. (feudal law) A seigniory or lordship held of the king, on which other lordships and manors depended.
8. (heraldry, countable) The center point of the upper half of an armorial escutcheon (compare honour point).
9. (countable, card games) In bridge, an ace, king, queen, jack, or ten especially of the trump suit; in some other games, an ace, king, queen or jack.
10. (in the plural) (Courses for) an honours degree: a university qualification of the highest rank.

Usage notes

• Like many other words ending in -our/-or, this word is usually spelled honour in the UK and honor in the US. However, the spelling honour is considered more formal in the United States, and is standard in formulations such as "the honour of your presence" as used on wedding invitations and other very formal documents.

Synonyms

• chivalry
• glory
• gentlemanliness

Antonyms

• dishonor, dishonour

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

honor (third-person singular simple present honors, present participle honoring, simple past and past participle honored) (chiefly US)

1. (transitive) To think of highly, to respect highly; to show respect for; to recognise the importance or spiritual value of.

2. (transitive) To conform to, abide by, act in accordance with (an agreement, treaty, promise, request, or the like).

3. (transitive) To confer (bestow) an honour or privilege upon (someone).

4. (transitive) To make payment in respect of (a cheque, banker's draft, etc.).

Synonyms

• worthy (verb)

Antonyms

• despise
• contempt

Derived terms

• dishonor, dishonour
• honor in the breach, honour in the breach

Translations

Interjection

honor

1. (archaic) On one's honor; truthfully.

References

Catalan

Etymology

Inherited from Old Catalan honor, from Latin honōrem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [uˈnor]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [oˈno]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [oˈnoɾ]

Noun

honor m or (archaic, regional or poetic) f (plural honors)

1. honour

   Antonym: deshonor

Derived terms

• deshonor

Related terms

• honorable
• honorari
• honorífic
• honrar
• seat of honor

Further reading

• “honor” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “honor”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
• “honor” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “honor” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Latin

Alternative forms

• honos (Old Latin)

Etymology

From Old Latin honōs, a form notably still used by Cicero, of unknown origin; possibly from a Proto-Indo-European root *gʰon- or *ǵʰon- (which in turn can lead to the reconstruction of an early Proto-Italic form *xonōs before Old Latin), but lacking any clear cognates.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈho.nor/, [ˈhɔnɔr]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈo.nor/, [ˈɔːnor]

Noun

honor m (genitive honōris); third declension

1. honor, esteem, dignity, reputation, office

Declension

Third-declension noun.

Derived terms

Descendants

References

• “honor”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “honor”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• honor in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• honor in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
• “honor”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “honor”, in William Smith, editor (1848), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, London: John Murray
• De Vaan, Michiel (2008) Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7)‎^[2], Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN

Lombard

Etymology

From Latin honōrem.

Pronunciation

• (Old Lombard) IPA^(key): [oˈnoɾ]

Noun

honor m

1. (Old Lombard) honour

Descendants

• Lombard: onor

Old French

Alternative forms

• anor, enor, honnor, honur, onor, onur

Etymology

From Latin honor, honōrem.

Noun

honor oblique singular, m (oblique plural honors, nominative singular honors, nominative plural honor)

1. honor; honour

Descendants

• → English: honor, honour
• Middle French: honneur
  • French: honneur
• → Middle Irish: onóir, anóir
  • Irish: onóir
  • Scottish Gaelic: onoir

Polish

Etymology

Inherited from Old Polish honor, from Latin honor.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈxɔ.nɔr/
• Rhymes: -ɔnɔr
• Syllabification: ho‧nor
• Homophone: Honor

Noun

honor m inan

1. (uncountable) honor (sense of self-worth derived from being someone or belonging to some group, obligating one to certain behaviors considered appropriate)

   Synonyms: ambicja, cześć, duma, godność

2. (uncountable, literary) honor (privilege which honors the person experiencing it)

   Synonym: zaszczyt

   Antonyms: dyshonor, niehonor

3. (countable, bridge, card games) honor (in bridge: an ace, king, queen, jack, or ten, especially of the trump suit; in some other games: an ace, king, queen, or jack)

   Antonym: blotka

   Hypernym: karta

4. (literary, in the plural) honors, distinctions (marks of honor, rank, eminence, or excellence)
5. (literary, in the plural) honors (signs of reverence and respect)

Declension

Derived terms

Related terms

Descendants

• → Old Ruthenian: го́норъ (hónor), го́неръ (hóner)
  • Belarusian: го́нар (hónar)
  • Carpathian Rusyn: го́нор (hónor)
  • Ukrainian: го́нор (hónor); го́нір (hónir) (dialectal)
  • → Middle Russian: го́норъ (gónor)
    • Russian: го́нор (gónor)

Further reading

• honor in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• honory in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• honor in Polish dictionaries at PWN
• honor in PWN's encyclopedia

Spanish

Etymology

Inherited from Old Spanish onor, from Latin honōrem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /oˈnoɾ/ [oˈnoɾ]
• Rhymes: -oɾ
• Syllabification: ho‧nor

Noun

honor m (plural honores)

1. honor

Derived terms

Related terms

Further reading

• “honor”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.7, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2023 November 28

Anagrams

• honro, honró, horno

Swedish

Noun

honor

1. indefinite plural of hona