Honesty

How to spell honesty

7 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce honesty

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does honesty mean?

1. nounThe quality of being truthful and free from deceit or fraud.

Honesty in a sentence

• The manager valued honesty over flattery in her team.

• His honesty about the missing funds earned the board's respect.

Where does honesty come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word descends from the Latin honestas, meaning 'honour', 'respectability' or 'a sense of shame', which was built on honestus, the adjective for 'honourable' or 'worthy of esteem', itself from honor 'honour, dignity'. English took the word through Old French honeste and oneste during the 1300s, at first carrying the broader sense of decency, respectability and good standing rather than just truthfulness. Over the following centuries the meaning narrowed toward the modern idea of truthfulness and refusing to deceive or steal. The silent initial h, which we now do pronounce in 'honour' contexts but historically dropped, comes straight from the Latin spelling and is the small trap that makes the word begin with a written but quiet letter. The same honor root still sits inside the related words 'honest', 'honour' and 'honorary'.

How the word is built

• hon- (from Latin honor: honour, esteem)
• -est- (adjective stem from honestus)
• -y (noun-forming suffix)