Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Honourable |
HonourableAdjective1. Showing or characterized by honor and integrity; "an honorable man"; "led an honorable life"; "honorable service to his country". 2. Used as a title of respect; "my honorable colleague"; "our worthy commanding officer". 3. Adhering to ethical and moral principles; "it seems ethical and right"; "followed the only honorable course of action"; "had the moral courage to stand alone". Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "honourable" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1200. (references) |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
The prefix Honourable or Honorable (abbr. "Hon." or formerly "Hon'ble") is a title of quality attached to the names of certain classes of persons.
The Commonwealth
Entitlement
In the United Kingdom, all sons and daughters of peers are entitled to the prefix for life. Normally however, sons and daughters of dukes and marquesses are by courtesy known e.g. as Lord/Lady A B except on formal legal documents where they are known as The Honourable A B, commonly known as Lord/Lady A B. Similarly, eldest sons of dukes, marquesses, and earls are by courtesy known by a subsidiary title, e.g. Viscount X, and do not use the style Honourable except in the situation outlined above. Wives of sons of peers share the titles of their husbands, and are known e.g. as The Hon. Mrs A B.
Some persons are entitled to the prefix by virtue of their offices. Rules exist that allow certain individuals to keep the prefix Honourable even after retirement.
Many corporate entities are also entitled to the style, for example:
- Judges of the High Court and other superior courts in the Commonwealth (if the judge is a knight, the style Sir A B is used socially instead of The Honourable Mr Justice B.);
- Members of executive councils (or cabinets);
- Members of legislative councils (or senates) where the legislature is bicameral; and
- Certain representatives of the Sovereign, e.g. Lieutenant-Governors of Canadian provinces.
- The Honourable the Commons of the United Kingdom in Parliament Assembled;
- The Honourable East India Company;
- The Honourable Artillery Company; etc.
Usage
The style Honourable is always written on envelopes, and formally elsewhere, in which case the style Mr or Esq is omitted. In speech, however, the Honourable John Smith is referred to simply as Mr John Smith.
In the House of Commons and other lower houses of Parliament and other legislatures, members refer to each other as Honourable members etc. out of courtesy, despite the fact that they are not entitled to the style in writing.
Where a person is entitled to the prefix Right Honourable he will use this higher style instead of Honourable.
American usage
In the United States, the prefix Honorable is used for a large number of persons, including:
See also: Style (manner of address), excellency, your worship, UK topics
- The President and Vice President of the United States;
- United States Senators
- Members of the House of Representatives;
- Ambassadors
- Judges;
- Cabinet Secretaries;
- Senior officers of executive departments;
- Governors of States of the Union;
- Mayors of cities; etc.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Honourable."
| The following table is compiled from various sources, across various languages. When English abbreviations or acronyms come from a non-English source, this is noted. | |||
| Entry | Source | Expression | Field |
| Hon. | English | Honourable | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |||
Synonyms: HonourableSynonyms: ethical (adj), honorable (adj), moral (adj). (additional references) |
| Antonym: dishonorable (adj). (additional references) |
Crosswords: Honourable |
| Specialty definitions using "honourable": Bar-sur-Aube ♦ Death under Shield, Dedlock ♦ Fair Play is a Jewel ♦ honorable undertaking, honourable undertaking ♦ MacTab ♦ Queen's Day ♦ Sirloin of Beef. (references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Movie/TV Titles | An Honourable Murder (1960) The Honourable Member for the Outside Left (1925) An Honourable Retirement (1979) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
Books |
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Periodicals |
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Theater & Movies | |||
Music |
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
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| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | The Honourable Robert Boyle. / Engraved by W. Holl. Credit: National Library of Medicine. |  | The honourable Major Cathcart, Dep. As. Adj. Gen. to the Light Division. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | Head Quarters staff: 1) Colonel Vico; 2) Major the Honourable Leicester Curzon; 3) Lord Burghersh; 4) Orderly; 5) Count Revel; 6) Mr. Calvert Interpreter; 7) Colonel Poulet[t] Somerset; 8) Colonel A. Hardinge; 9) Dr. Prendergast; 10) Commander Maxse; 11). Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Lieutenant General, the Honourable Sir James Yorke Scarlett, K.C.B. Credit: Library of Congress. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
| Author | Quotation |
Richard Brinsley Sheridan | The right honourable gentleman is indebted to his memory for his jests, and to his imagination for his facts. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Author | Date | Quotation |
Treaty of Versailles | 1919 | THE HIGH CONTRACTING PARTIES, In order to promote international co-operation and to achieve international peace and security by the acceptance of obligations not to resort to war by the prescription of open, just and honourable relations between nations by the firm establishment of the understandings of international law as the actual rule of conduct among Governments, and by the maintenance of justice and a scrupulous respect for all treaty obligations in the dealings of organised peoples with one another Agree to this Covenant of the League of Nations. (reference) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Title | Author | Quote |
Emma | Austen, Jane | In that case, nothing could be more pitiable or more honourable than the sacrifices she had resolved on. |
Les Miserables | Hugo, Victor | The poor, as well as God, gained by the terror of the honourable deputy, for he also established two beds at the hospital, which made twelve |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| "Honourable" is generally used as an adjective (general or positive) -- approximately 92.67% of the time. "Honourable" is used about 886 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Adjective (general or positive) | 92.67% | 821 | 8,521 |
| Noun (proper) | 7.22% | 64 | 42,009 |
| Noun (common) | 0.11% | 1 | 339,140 |
| Total | 100.00% | 886 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
Expressions using "honourable": honourable exception ♦ honourable undertaking. Additional references. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day |
artillery company honourable | 4 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Language | Translations for "honourable"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Albanian | me nderime (honorable), i respektueshëm (deferential, estimable, honorable, respectful), i nderuar (honorable, honored, honoured, laurelled, patriarchal, reputable, respectable, venerable, well thought out, worshipful), i ndershëm (clean, clean-living, disinterested, fair, fair and square, fair dealing, guileless, honest, honorable, incorrupt, on the level, scrupulous, sportsmanlike, stainless, straightforward, whole-souled). (various references) | |
Arabic | كريم (benign, big hearted, cream, custard, decent, generous, gentle, good, good hearted, good natured, gracious, high minded, honorable, kind, kindly, lavish, liberal, noble, noble-minded, obliging, open handed, precious, respectable, valuable, warm-hearted), محترم (admired, esteemed, honorable, respectable, respected), مشرف (commanding, dominant, honorable, honorific, overlooking), مبجل (dignified, distinguished, esteemed, glorified, honorable, reverend, reverent, venerable), تبجيلي (honorable, reverent, reverential), جليل (august, dignified, exalted, glorious, grand, grave, great, honorable, important, imposing, lofty, magnificent, portly, respectable, significant, solemn, splendid, stately, sublime, venerable), جدير بالإحترام (imposing, worth), الشريف (honorable, peer), شريف (honorable, noble, noble origin, proper, reputable, sheriff, upstanding, virtuous). (various references) | |
Bulgarian | уважаем (esteemed, honorable), честен (above board, clean-fingered, downright, fair, fair dealing, foursquare, honest, honorable, loyal, right, righteous, single, sportsmanlike, Square, straight, straightforward, truthful, upstanding, veracious, white, worthy), благороден (exalted, generous, gentle, grand, high minded, honorable, humane, magnanimous, noble-minded, sublime, white), почтен (clean, hoary, honest, honorable, honorary, law abiding, loyal, orderly, reputable, respectable, right, savoury, upright, upstanding, worthy), почетен (honorable, honored, honorific, honoured), почитаем (dear, esteemed, honorable, honored, honoured). (various references) | |
Chinese | 高尚 (Aboveboard, HONORABLE, Noble). (various references) | |
Czech | vážený (esteemed, estimable, honorable, reputable, respectable, respected), poctivý (decent, fair, honest, honorable, righteous, Square, straight, straightforward, upright, upstanding), poèestný (honorable), ctihodný (honorable, respectable, Reverend, ven, venerable, worshipful, worthy), úctyhodný (considerable, honorable, respectable, venerable), èestný (above board, decent, face saving, gentlemanlike, honest, honorable, honorary, on the up and up, righteous, right-minded, straight, upstanding). (various references) | |
Danish | hæderlig kontrakt (honourable undertaking), på basis af gensidig tillid (honorable undertaking, honourable undertaking). (various references) | |
Dutch | eerlijke zaak (honorable undertaking, honourable undertaking). (various references) | |
Finnish | kunniallinen (decent, honest). (various references) | |
French | honorable (honorable), vénérable (hoar). (various references) | |
German | ehrenwert (honorable), ehrenhaft (respectable). (various references) | |
Greek | έντιμοσ (equitable, honest, honorable, respectable, Square, straightforward, upright, upstanding), αξιότιμοσ (estimable, honorable). (various references) | |
Hebrew | מכובד (dignified, honorable, reputable, respectable, seemly, stately, worthy), יקיר (beloved, darling, dear, notable, treasure, worthy), כבוד (honour), נכבד (distinguished, honorable, notable, respectable, respected, venerable). (various references) | |
Hungarian | tiszteletreméltó (respectable), tiszteletet érdemlő, megtisztelő (honorific), méltóságos (right honourable), kitüntető, dicséretre méltó (laudable, praiseworthy, creditable), dicséretes (praiseworthy, commendable, laudable, meritorious), dicsőséget hozó, dicsőséges (glorious), dicső (glorious), becsületet szerző, becsületére váló. (various references) | |
Italian | onorevole (honorable, member of parliament, respectable), onorando (hoar). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | 御 . (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | ご (associate with, be clear, be cold, be serene, be skillful, doingfor, file, five, five-man squad, giving, Go, language, line, mis-, rank with, word). (various references) | |
Korean | 훌륭한 (Commendable, HONORABLE). (various references) | |
Manx | ooasle (aristocratic, classy, dignified, esteemed, gentlemanly, illustrious, lofty, lordly, magnificent, patrician, respected), onnoroil. (various references) | |
Norwegian | hederlig, ærede. (various references) | |
Pig Latin | onourablehay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | ilustre (honorable), honroso (honorable). (various references) | |
Romanian | stimabil (estimable, honorable), onorabil (creditable, creditably, earnest, gentlemanlike, honest, honestly, honorable, honorably, honourably, reputable, respectable, upright, useful, venerable, worthy), onest (candid, foursquare, honest, honorable, mensurable, Square, upright), cinstit (above board, candid, chaste, clean-fingered, correctly, fair, foursquare, gentlemanlike, guileless, honest, honestly, honest-minded, honorable, mensurable, on the level, on the up and up, open, reliable, reputable, respectable, righteous, scrupulous, simple, sincere, sincerely, sporting, sportsmanlike, Square, straightforward, true, trustful, truthful, unfeigned, upright, venerable, virtuous), care face cinste (honorable), bine (well). (various references) | |
Russian | честный (clean-handed, honest, white-handed), знатный (gently born), благородный (noble, noble-minded, whole-souled), почетный (honorary), достопочтенный (honorable, worthy). (various references) | |
Scottish | airbhinneach, òirdheirc (excellent, glorious, illustrious, noble). (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | častan (honorable, reverend). (various references) | |
Spanish | honroso (honorable, reputable), honrado (honest, righteous, upright), honorífico (honorable, honorific), honorable (honorable), venerable (hoar, venerable). (various references) | |
Swedish | hedervärd (creditable, honorable), hederlig (honest). (various references) | |
Turkish | yüce (almighty, big, elevated, eminent, exalted, great-hearted, high, honorable, lofty, magnanimous, noble, paramount, sacrosanct, serene, soaring, sovereign, spheric, stately, sublime, supreme, towering), saygın (commanding, decent, esteemed, honorable, important, notable, prestigious, reputable, respectable, valued), saygıdeğer (August, christian, considered, esteemed, estimable, honorable, respectable, Reverend, venerable, well-considered, worshipful, worthy), onurlu (honorable, honored, honoured, proud, self-respecting), namuslu (fair, honest, honorable, level, modest, pure, respectable, untainted, upright, vestal, virtuous), muhterem (August, estimable, honorable, patriarchal, Reverend, venerable, worshipful), şerefli (dignified, glorious, honorable, honored, honoured, proud, reputable). (various references) | |
Ukrainian | чесний (above board, bona fide, clean-fingered, clean-handed, conscientious, fair, fair dealing, faithful, honest, honorable, scrupulous, sincere, single minded, stainless, straight, straightforward, upright, white-handed), шанований (esteemed, estimable, honorable, reputable, worshipful, worthy), знатний (gently born, honorable, noble), почесний (honorable, honorary, honorific). (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Old English | 450-1100 | gerisenlic. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Language | Date | Source | Acts Chapter 17, Verse 12 |
| Greek (transliterated) | 250 BC | Septuagint | Polloi men oun ex autwn episteusan kai twn ellhnidwn gunaikwn twn euschmonwn kai andrwn ouk oligoi |
| Latin | 405 | Vulgate | Et multi quidem crediderunt ex eis et gentilium mulierum honestarum et viri non pauci |
| Middle English | 1395 | Wyclif | And manye of hem bileueden and of hethen wymmen onest and men not a fewe. |
| Renaissance English | 1526 | Tyndale | And many of the beleved: also of worshipfull weme which were Grekes and of men not a feawe. |
| Jacobean English | 1611 | King James | Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few. |
| Victorian English | 1833 | Webster | Therefore many of them believed; also of honorable women who were Greeks, and of men not a few. |
| Basic English | 1964 | Ogden | And a number of them had faith, and no small number of the Greek women of high position and of the men. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Language | Acts Chapter 17, Verse 12 |
| Albanian | Shumë nga ata, pra, besuan bashkë me një numër jo të vogël grash fisnike greke dhe burrash. |
| Cebuano | Busa daghan kanila ang mitoo, uban sa dili diriyot nga mga hamiling babaye nga Gresyanhon, ug mga lalaki usab. |
| Croatian | Mnogi od njih stoga povjerovaše, a tako i nemalo uglednih grèkih žena i muževa. |
| Danish | Så troede da mange af dem og ikke få af de fornemme græske Kvinder og Mænd. |
| Dutch | Velen dan uit hen geloofden, en van de Griekse eerlijke vrouwen en van de mannen niet weinige. |
| Finnish | Ja monet heistä uskoivat, niin myös useat ylhäiset kreikkalaiset naiset ja miehet. |
| French | Plusieurs d`entre eux crurent, ainsi que beaucoup de femmes grecques de distinction, et beaucoup d`hommes. |
| German | So glaubten nun viele aus ihnen, auch der griechischen ehrbaren Weiber und Männer nicht wenige. |
| Haitian Creole | Anpil ladan yo te kwè. Konsa, anpil gran medam ak anpil gason nan moun peyi Lagrès yo te kwè. |
| Hungarian | Sokan hivének azért õ közülök; sõt az elõkelõ görög asszonyok és férfiak közül is nem kevesen. |
| Indonesian-Bahasa Sehari-hari | Banyak di antara mereka percaya kepada Yesus, dan tidak sedikit pula orang-orang Yunani terkemuka, yang percaya; baik wanita maupun pria. |
| Indonesian-Terjemahan Lama | Oleh sebab itu banyaklah orang di antara mereka itu yang percaya, demikian juga daripada perempuan Gerika yang kaya-kaya dan banyak laki-laki. |
| Italian | Molti di loro credettero e anche alcune donne greche della nobiltà e non pochi uomini. |
| Maori | Na he tokomaha o ratou i whakapono; kihai hoki i tokoiti nga wahine rangatira o nga Kariki, me nga tane hoki. |
| Norwegian | Mange av disse kom da til troen, og ikke få av de fornemme greske kvinner og menn. |
| Portuguese | De sorte que muitos deles creram, bem como bom número de mulheres gregas de alta posição e não poucos homens. |
| Rumanian | Mulyi dintre ei wi din femeile cu vazq ale Grecilor, wi mulyi bqrbayi au crezut. |
| Shuar | Tuma ásar Untsurí shuar Yus-shuar ajasarmiayi. Tura Kriaku aents nuwa penkeri armia nusha aishmansha umikiarmiayi. |
| Spanish | En consecuencia, creyeron muchos de ellos; y también de las mujeres griegas distinguidas y de los hombres, no pocos. |
| Swahili | Wengi wao waliamini na pia wanawake wa Kigiriki wa tabaka la juu na wanaume pia. |
| Swedish | Många av dem kommo därigenom till tro, likaså ganska många ansedda grekiska kvinnor och jämväl män. |
| Uma | Ka'omea-na, wori' to Yahudi toera to mepangala' -mi hi Yesus, pai' wori' to Yunani to bohe hanga' -ra, mepangala' wo'o-ramo hi Yesus, lompe' tomane lompe' tobine. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-b-e-h-l-n-o-o-r-u" | |
-1 letter: honorable. | |
-3 letters: aleuron, borneol, nebular, rubeola. | |
-4 letters: bolero, borane, boreal, bourne, enhalo, haleru, hauler, herbal, honour, labour, loaner, nebula, neural, nobler, reloan, robalo, rouble, unable, unbear, unreal, unrobe, urbane. | |
-5 letters: abhor, abler, aboon, alone, anole, baler, baron, beano, blare, blear, bluer, bohea, bolar, boner, boral, borne, boron, boule, bourn, buran, enrol, haler, haole, heron. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-b-e-h-l-n-o-o-r-u" | |
+4 letters: hemoglobinuria. | |
+5 letters: hemoglobinurias. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
