Honour

How to spell honour

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce honour

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does honour mean?

1. nounHigh respect, esteem, or recognition given to a person, or a strong sense of personal integrity.
2. verbTo show high respect for someone, or to fulfil an obligation or agreement.

Honour in a sentence

• noun

  It was a great honour to be named employee of the year.

• verb

  The bank agreed to honour the cheque despite the late deposit.

• noun

  She accepted the award with quiet pride and a sense of honour.

• verb

  The city will honour its veterans at a ceremony next week.

Where does honour come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin honor (also spelled honos), meaning high public regard, esteem, or the dignity of holding office. It passed into Middle English in the 1200s through Old French honour, which kept the Latin vowel pattern that the British and Canadian spelling still shows today. Early uses leaned heavily on the sense of public reputation and the respect owed to rank, before broadening to cover personal integrity and the act of showing respect. The same root sits inside everyday relatives such as 'honest', 'honorary', and 'honourable', all carrying that idea of worthiness and esteem. The spelling trap is the unstressed -our ending: the 'o' is barely sounded, so writers must remember that British and Canadian usage keep the French-style 'u' that American 'honor' drops.

How the word is built

• honour (from Latin honor: esteem, public regard)
• -our (British noun ending preserving the Old French form)

British and American spelling

Honour is the British spelling. American English spells it honor.