Honourable

How to spell honourable

10 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce honourable

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does honourable mean?

1. adjectiveDeserving respect, or behaving with honesty and a strong sense of what is morally right.
2. adjectiveA formal style of address placed before the name of certain judges, members of parliament, or senior officials.

Honourable in a sentence

• Returning the lost wallet untouched was the honourable thing to do.

• The bill was introduced by the honourable member for the northern district.

• She had a long and honourable career in public service before retiring.

• The invitation was addressed to the honourable chief justice of the court.

Where does honourable come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin noun honor (also spelled honos), which meant esteem, public dignity, or a mark of official respect. The Romans built the adjective honorabilis from it, meaning worthy of honour or bringing honour, and that form passed into Old French as honorable during the medieval period. English borrowed it in the 1300s, keeping the French spelling honourable with the -our ending that French had inherited from the Latin -or. American spelling later trimmed it back to honorable, closer to the original Latin, but British and Canadian usage retained the French-flavoured -our, which is the very letter writers most often drop in error. The same honor root still sits inside honest, honorary, and the courtesy title borne by judges and certain officials, so spelling the -our- correctly here pays off across a whole family of words.

How the word is built

• honour (from Latin honor: esteem, public regard)
• -able (worthy of, deserving)

British and American spelling

Honourable is the British spelling. American English spells it honorable.