honorable
/ˈɑn.ə.ɹəbl̩/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.81 in modern English
14
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
4
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
A courtesy title, given in Britain and the Commonwealth to a cabinet minister, minister of state, or senator, and in the United States to the president, vice president, congresspeople, state governors and legislators, and mayors.
American usage
adj
A courtesy title, given in the United Kingdom to all sons and daughters of viscounts and barons and to the younger sons of earls.
American usage
adj
Alternative letter-case form of honorable.
Example Sentences
- "In confinement ladies are attended, not by the ordinary doctors, but by women especially devoted to the calling, who regard their profession as honorable and humanitary."
- "That culture considered it no disgrace to be defeated in honorable combat."
- "Luxury was abolished. People lived in honorable marriage. All the women were chaste, faithful, and far from wantoners."
- "Uncheered by friends, unhissed by foes, the honorable member blandly continued his speech […]"
- "These included a reception for the Congress participants, given by the city of Barcelona in a 14th century palace, with guards making room for the mayor and other honorables, […]"
Etymology
From Middle English honourable, from Old French honorable, honurable, from Latin honōrābilis, from honōrō (“to honour”); cognate with Italian onorabile, Spanish honorable. By surface analysis, honor + -able. In this sense, largely displaced Old English ārfæst.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: honourable, honorable, honōrābilis
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈɑn.ə.ɹəbl̩/
- British English: /ˈɒn.ə ɹəbl̩/
Usage
- American usage
Inflected Forms
more honorable (comparative)
most honorable (superlative)
honble (alternative)
honourable (alternative)
honorables (plural)