# honor

Pronunciation: US say "ON-ur" /ˈɑ.nɚ/; UK say "ON-uh" /ˈɒn.ə/

## Verb

1. To show respect or recognition for someone or something, especially publicly or by giving an award, privilege, or distinction.
   - Simple: To show respect for someone or something, especially publicly or by giving an award.
   - _Communities honor their elders through ceremonies and gifts._
   - _The festival honors a saint revered for centuries._
6. To act in accordance with an agreement, promise, treaty, or request, doing what it requires.
   - Simple: To do what a promise, an agreement, or a request asks you to do.
   - _Both nations agreed to honor the ceasefire._
   - _The company honored its warranty without complaint._
10. To make the payment due on a check, bank draft, or similar financial instrument.
   - Simple: To pay the money owed on a check or similar paper.
   - _The bank honored the check despite the slight discrepancy in the signature._
   - _Tellers must verify funds before they honor any large draft._

## Noun

2. Recognition of someone's importance or worth, expressed through respect or deep veneration.
   - Simple: Great respect shown to someone people admire or look up to.
   - _A monument was raised in honor of the city's founders._
   - _The ceremony paid honor to lifelong volunteers._
3. A privilege that brings pride and a sense of being respected to the person who experiences it.
   - Simple: A special chance that makes you feel proud and respected.
   - _Being chosen to lead the team was a real honor._
   - _She considered it an honor to serve on the council._
4. An award, prize, or token given to recognize praiseworthy achievement, often bestowed by a state on a citizen.
   - Simple: An award or prize given to show praise and respect.
   - _The scientist received the nation's highest honor for her discovery._
   - _Over her long career, the scientist collected many honors, including two national awards for her research._
5. Moral uprightness and excellence of character, together with the good reputation and dignity that virtue earns.
   - Simple: Strong moral character that makes others trust and respect you.
   - _A man of honor keeps his word even when no one is watching._
   - _She acted with honor throughout the long and bitter dispute._
9. A respectful title for a judge, and in some places a mayor, used after "Your", "His", or "Her".
   - Simple: A polite title for a judge, or sometimes a mayor, as in Your Honor or Her Honor.
   - _"Objection, Your Honor," the prosecutor said, rising from her seat._
   - _Her Honor the Mayor will cut the ribbon at the new library on Saturday._
7. A university degree or course of study at a higher level than an ordinary degree, or a distinction awarded for high academic achievement.
   - Simple: A college degree or course above the ordinary level, or a special mark for doing very well in your studies.
   - _Only students with excellent grades qualify for the honors program._
   - _She completed her degree with first-class honors and a published thesis._
8. A source of respect and fame; a glory or distinction; something regarded as an ornament or credit.
   - Simple: Something that brings respect, pride, or fame to a person or group.
   - _Her fair and fearless reporting made her an honor to her profession._
   - _The volunteers who rebuilt the school after the flood are an honor to their town._
11. The privilege of going or playing first, as of the guest who leads the way or the golfer who tees off first.
   - Simple: The right to go first, for example to tee off first in golf.
   - _Tradition gave the eldest guest the honors, so he entered the hall ahead of everyone._
   - _After his birdie on the seventh, Tom had the honor and hit his drive first._
12. Ceremonial tributes, such as a gun salute or the handing over of a flag, paid to someone as a mark of respect, particularly at a funeral.
   - Simple: Formal actions done to show respect for someone, especially at a funeral, like firing guns or handing over a flag.
   - _The veteran was laid to rest with full military honors, including a rifle volley and the folding of the flag._
   - _The visiting president was welcomed at the airport with full honors and a twenty-one-gun salute._

## Other meanings

- (interjection) Used to affirm that one is telling the truth, as if swearing on one's honor.
- (noun) In bridge, a high-ranking card: an ace, king, queen, jack, or ten, especially of the trump suit; in some games, an ace, king, queen, or jack.
- (noun) In mahjong, a tile belonging to the dragon or wind group.
- (noun) In heraldry, the center point of the upper half of a coat of arms shield.
- (noun) In feudal law, a seigniory or lordship held directly from the king, on which other lordships and manors depended.

## Origin

It comes from Middle English "honour," borrowed through Anglo-Norman and Old French from Latin "honor." The verb comes from Middle English "honouren." It replaced the earlier English word "menske," which came from Old Norse "mennska" meaning "humanity."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/honor (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).