honorable

English

Alternative forms

• honble (obsolete)
• Honorable (honorific)
• (British spelling:) honourable, Honourable (honorific)

Etymology

From Middle English honourable, from Old French honorable, honurable, from Latin honōrābilis, from honōrō (“I honour”); cognate with Italian onorabile, Spanish honorable. By surface analysis, honor +‎ -able. In this sense, largely displaced Old English ārfæst.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: ŏnʹərəbl, ŏnʹrəbl, IPA^(key): /ˈɒnəɹəbl̩/, /ˈɒnɹəbl̩/
• (General American) enPR: ŏnʹərəbl, ŏnʹrəbl, IPA^(key): /ˈɑnəɹəbl̩/, /ˈɑnɹəbl̩/

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

• Hyphenation: hon‧or‧able, honor‧able

Adjective

honorable (comparative more honorable, superlative most honorable) (American spelling)

1. Behaving in a manner that shows honor; decent, having integrity.
2. Worthy of respect; respectable.

   Synonyms: noble, venerable

   Antonyms: contemptible, despicable, mean

3. Complying with cultural rules regarding honor; not provoking shame or disgrace.

   That culture considered it no disgrace to be defeated in honorable combat.

4. (politics) 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.

   Synonyms: (abbreviation) Hon'ble, (abbreviation) Hon.

Usage notes

• Historically used in the United States (early 1900s) in mockery of Japanese and Chinese people (or honorable Japs).

Derived terms

• amende honorable
• Hon., Hon'ble, Honourable
• honorable discharge
• honorable mention
• honorably, honourably
• (politics): right honorable, right honourable

 

Translations

worthy of respect

• Armenian: պատվարժան (hy) (patvaržan)
• Belarusian: шляхе́тны (šljaxjétny), паважа́ны (pavažány), шано́ўны (šanóŭny), пачэ́сны (pačésny)
• Bulgarian: уважа́ем (bg) (uvažáem), достопочте́н (bg) (dostopočtén), почте́н (bg) (počtén)
• Catalan: honorable (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 可敬 (zh) (kějìng)

• Czech: ctihodný
• Dutch: eervol (nl), hooggeacht (nl) (minister, governor constituent country), hoogedelgestreng (nl) (member of parliament, provincial governor), edelachtbaar (nl) (mayor)
• Esperanto: honorinda
• Finnish: kunnioitettava (fi), kunnianarvoisa
• French: honorable (fr)
• Galician: honorable (gl)
• Georgian: პატივცემული (ṗaṭivcemuli)
• German: ehrbar (de)
• Gothic: 𐌲𐌰𐍂𐌹𐌿𐌸𐍃 (gariuþs)
• Greek: αξιότιμος (el) (axiótimos), εντιμότατος (entimótatos)

  Ancient: τίμιος (tímios)

• Hungarian: tiszteletreméltó (hu)
• Italian: onorevole (it), onorabile (it)
• Japanese: 偉い (ja) (erai), 素晴らしい (ja) (subarashii), 立派な (ja) (rippa na)
• Kazakh: мәртебелі (märtebelı)
• Latin: honōrābilis, honestus
• Malayalam: ബഹുമാനപ്പെട്ട (ml) (bahumānappeṭṭa), ആദരണീയനായ m (ādaraṇīyanāya)
• Maori: whakahōnore
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: hederlig, ærverdig, respektabel

• Occitan: onorable (oc)
• Old English: ārfæst
• Polish: czcigodny (pl), szanowny (pl), dostojny (pl)
• Portuguese: honorável (pt)
• Romanian: onorabil (ro)
• Russian: благоро́дный (ru) (blagoródnyj), уважа́емый (ru) (uvažájemyj), почте́нный (ru) (počténnyj), почётный (ru) (počótnyj)
• Sanskrit: प्रमुख (sa) (pramukha)
• Scottish Gaelic: onarach
• Spanish: honorable (es), honroso (es), honoroso m
• Swedish: hedervärd (sv), ärevördig
• Telugu: గౌరవనీయ (gauravanīya)
• Turkish: saygıdeğer (tr)
• Ukrainian: благоро́дний (uk) (blahoródnyj), шляхе́тний (šljaxétnyj), поважа́ний (považányj), шано́ваний (šanóvanyj), поче́сний (počésnyj), пошти́вий (poštývyj), шано́вний (uk) (šanóvnyj)

Noun

honorable (plural honorables)

1. A politician or other person who bears the title of "honorable".
   • 1959, American Journal of Psychotherapy, volume 13, page 111:

     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, […]

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin honōrābilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [u.nuˈɾab.blə]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [o.noˈɾab.blə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [o.noˈɾa.ble]

Adjective

honorable m or f (masculine and feminine plural honorables)

1. honorable

Derived terms

• honorablement

Further reading

• “honorable” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “honorable”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
• “honorable” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “honorable” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

French

Etymology

Inherited from Old French [Term?], borrowed from Latin honōrābilis.

Pronunciation

• ^{(mute h)} IPA^(key): /ɔ.nɔ.ʁabl/

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

honorable (plural honorables)

1. honorable

Derived terms

• faire amende honorable
• hon.
• très honorable

Related terms

• honneur

Further reading

• “honorable”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Galician

Alternative forms

• honorábel

Etymology

From Latin honōrābilis.

Adjective

honorable m or f (plural honorables)

1. honorable

Related terms

• honor
• honra

Further reading

• “honorable”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2024

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin honōrābilis. Equivalent to honor +‎ -able.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /onoˈɾable/ [o.noˈɾa.β̞le]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -able
• Syllabification: ho‧no‧ra‧ble

Adjective

honorable m or f (masculine and feminine plural honorables)

1. honorable

   Synonyms: honrado, honesto

Derived terms

• honorabilidad
• honorablemente

 

Related terms

• honor
• honra
• honrar

 

Further reading

• “honorable”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.7, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2023 November 28