honorarium

American  

[on-uh-rair-ee-uhm] / ˌɒn əˈrɛər i əm /

noun

plural

honorariums, honoraria

1. a payment in recognition of acts or professional services for which custom or propriety forbids a price to be set.

   The mayor was given a modest honorarium for delivering a speech to our club.

2. a fee for services rendered by a professional person.

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honorarium British  

/ ˌɒnəˈrɛərɪəm /

noun

1. a fee paid for a nominally free service

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Usage

What does honorarium mean? An honorarium is a payment for special, professional services that don’t technically require compensation or for which payment isn’t customarily given. An honorarium is usually given as an appreciative gesture for services outside of one’s normal job—it’s not a salary. More generally, it can refer to a one-time fee paid to a professional for their services. The correct plural of honorarium can be either honorariums or honoraria. Technically speaking, honoraria is the Latin-based plural form of honorarium. (Many other Latin-derived words can be pluralized in the same way, but many are rarely used, such as stadia as the plural for stadium.)Example: I was paid a modest honorarium for the summer poetry workshop that I led.

Etymology

Origin of honorarium

1650–60; < Latin honōrārium fee paid on taking office, noun use of neuter of honōrārius honorary

Explanation

An honorarium is a small fee paid for a service that is usually done for free. It's more of a thank you than a real, substantial paycheck. Honorarium comes from the Latin word honorary for “gift.” An honorarium is like a gift of a small amount of money that's paid once for a service. If a doctor or lawyer gives a speech for an organization, they might be given an honorarium. The honorarium money is small and not intended to reflect what the person's time is truly worth. Rather, the honorarium is a token of thanks and a gesture of respect.

Example Sentences

When asked to speak or present, I always ask if they are familiar with my travel requirements, honorarium, hotel requirements and driver.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 11, 2026

Thor Stein received grants from the NIH and Department of Veterans Affairs, and an honorarium from Brown University.

From Science Daily • Jan. 1, 2026

What’s much more likely is that Garvey just submitted a report claiming he did not collect a single dollar of honorarium in 2023.

From Slate • May 29, 2024

Dr. Waxman was not associated with the study but was paid a speaking honorarium by the company.

From New York Times • Jan. 30, 2024

They published the picture and as an honorarium sent Lilienthal $200.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady