honour

[ on-er ]

noun

, Chiefly British.

1. honor.

Honour

¹

/ ˈɒnə /

noun

1. preceded byYour, His, or Her
   1. a title used to or of certain judges
   2. (in Ireland) a form of address in general use

honour

²

/ ˈɒnə /

noun

1. personal integrity; allegiance to moral principles
2. 1. fame or glory
   2. a person or thing that wins this for another

      he is an honour to the school

3. often plural great respect, regard, esteem, etc, or an outward sign of this
4. often plural high or noble rank
5. a privilege or pleasure

   it is an honour to serve you

6. a woman's virtue or chastity
7. 1. bridge poker any of the top five cards in a suit or any of the four aces at no trumps
   2. whist any of the top four cards
8. golf the right to tee off first
9. do honour to
   1. to pay homage to
   2. to be a credit to
10. do the honours
    1. to serve as host or hostess
    2. to perform a social act, such as carving meat, proposing a toast, etc
11. honour bright slang:school.
    an exclamation pledging honour
12. in honour bound
    under a moral obligation
13. in honour of
    out of respect for
14. on one's honour or upon one's honour
    on the pledge of one's word or good name

verb

1. to hold in respect or esteem
2. to show courteous behaviour towards
3. to worship
4. to confer a distinction upon
5. to accept and then pay when due (a cheque, draft, etc)
6. to keep (one's promise); fulfil (a previous agreement)
7. to bow or curtsy to (one's dancing partner)

Spelling Note

See -or ¹.

Derived Forms

• ˈhonourless, adjective
• ˈhonourer, noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of honour¹

C12: from Old French onor, from Latin honor esteem

Example Sentences

CRISPR co-discoverer Jennifer Doudna was named a Nobel laureate in Chemistry today, sharing the honour with Emmanuelle Charpentier .

From TechCrunch

Harry was guest of honour at youth empowerment charity We Day, and sat with his girlfriend Cressida in the audience.

From The Daily Beast

She even knighted the boy, which seems like the best use of a royal honour we have ever heard of.

From The Daily Beast

The honour is within the personal gift of Her Majesty and is the highest order of chivalry in the land.

From The Daily Beast

“They forced us to pick up guns to defend our honour,” he said.

From The Daily Beast

This was reported by the Toronto Sun, which quoted Councillor Joe Mihevc as saying: “He did not do honour to our good city.”

From The Daily Beast

Honour the physician for the need thou hast of him: for the most High hath created him.

From Project Gutenberg

Great was the surprise of Alf at the honour and labour thus thrust upon him, but he did not shrink from it.

From Project Gutenberg

Toward the close of it were the usual number of toasts in honour of Liszt, to which he responded in rather a bored sort of way.

From Project Gutenberg

All Koreans pay great honour to their dead parents, and tablets to their memory are placed in some room set apart for the purpose.

From Project Gutenberg

He was Honour's self, till he brought the serpent to his bosom, in the shape of his perfidious son.

From Project Gutenberg