Honorary

How to spell honorary

8 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce honorary

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does honorary mean?

1. adjectiveGiven or held as a mark of respect, without the usual duties, qualifications, or payment.

Honorary in a sentence

• The university awarded her an honorary doctorate for her decades of research.

• He serves as honorary treasurer of the club and accepts no salary for the role.

Where does honorary come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin honorarius, meaning 'relating to an office of honour' or 'conferred as a mark of esteem', which was built on the noun honor (also spelled honos), meaning 'honour, dignity, or public regard'. In Roman usage an honorarius post or gift was one given for the prestige it carried rather than for the work or payment involved, and that exact idea survives in the modern sense. English adopted it in the seventeenth century, keeping the Latin -arius ending as the familiar English -ary. A notable spelling trap for British writers is that although the related noun is spelled 'honour' in British English, the u is dropped in 'honorary' because it follows the Latin honor- stem directly, so the British form is still 'honorary', never 'honourary'. The same honor- root also gives us 'honourable', 'honorific', and 'honour' itself.

How the word is built

• honor- (from Latin honor: esteem, public regard)
• -ary (adjective suffix meaning 'relating to')