honesties
- 1Plural of honesty.
Honesties seed themselves freely and fill shady borders with purple flowers in spring.
Rows of honesties lined the border, their translucent pods catching the autumn light.
Note
The plural feels most natural in the garden. The Lunaria plants called honesty are always countable, so a border of honesties needs no excuse. For truthfulness the noun usually stays uncountable, and honesties appears only when separate frank acts or remarks are being counted, as in the small honesties of a friendship. The obsolete meanings, decency and chastity, belong to older texts.
- 2Plural of honestie. Archaic.
Note
An old spelling hides inside a form that looks entirely modern. Honestie, the archaic spelling of honesty, simply adds -s, while honesty changes -y to -ies, and both arrive at honesties. Nothing in the plural shows which one is meant. Only the surrounding older text tells the reader it belongs to honestie rather than to the modern plural. In new writing, use honesty and its plural.
honesties is a form of honesty
honesty, noun: The quality or condition of being honest: truthful, fair, and free from deceit. Full entry
- Forms
- honestyhonesties plural
- Spelling
- honesty → honesties: change y to i, add -es
Use it in a sentence
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