honorable

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. Surface analysis is honor +‎ -able.

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. Worthy of respect; respectable.

   Synonyms: noble, venerable

   Antonyms: contemptible, despicable, mean

2. (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 people (or honorable Japs).

Derived terms

• amende honorable
• Hon., Hon'ble, Honourable
• 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) 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) 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

From Latin honōrābilis.

Pronunciation

• (Balearic) IPA^(key): /o.noˈɾa.blə/
• (Central) IPA^(key): /u.nuˈɾa.blə/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /o.noˈɾa.ble/

Adjective

honorable (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, 2023
• “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

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, Royal Galician Academy.

---

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 (plural honorables)

1. honorable

   Synonym: honesto

Derived terms

• honorabilidad
• honorablemente

Related terms

• honor
• honra
• honrar

Further reading

• “honorable”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014