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hon·or·a·ble (ŏnər-ə-bəl)
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adj.
1. Deserving or winning honor and respect: led an honorable life.
2. Bringing distinction or recognition: honorable service to one's nation.
3. Possessing and characterized by honor: an honorable person.
4. Consistent with honor or good name: followed the only honorable course of action.
5. Distinguished; illustrious: this honorable gathering of scholars.
6. Attended by marks of recognition and honor: received an honorable burial.
7. Honorable Abbr. Hon.
a. Used as a title of respect for certain high government officials: The Honorable Jane Doe, Associate Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts.
b. Used as a courtesy title for the children of barons and viscounts and the younger sons of earls.
c. Used in the House of Commons as a title of respect when speaking of another member.
honor·a·ble·ness n.
honor·a·bly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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