dishonest

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English dishoneste,^[2][3][4] borrowed from Old French deshoneste (“dishonourable, indecent”),^[5][6][7][8] modern déshonnête.^[5][8] The Old French adjective is recorded from the 13th century,^[5][6] and the Anglo-Norman one from the late 12th century, meaning dishonourable, improper or lewd.^[9] It matches Spanish deshonesto and Italian disonesto, a Romance formation that replaced Latin dehonestus,^[5][10][11] from honestus (“honourable”),^[5][6] the source of honest.^[12][2] Barnhart and the American Heritage Dictionary suppose a Medieval Latin form *dishonestus, with dis- (“not”),^[7][2] and Klein calls it Vulgar Latin.^[4] Latin honestus comes from honōs (“honour”), of unknown origin.^[6] Johnson (1755) took it as an English formation on honest.^[13]

Earliest recorded meaning

Bringing dishonour or disgrace; shameful: about 1386, in Chaucer's Clerk's Tale,^[5] and 1390 in Barnhart, in the Canterbury Tales.^[7][12]

Semantic evolution

In Middle English the word meant first "shameful, dishonourable" (until 1760); from about 1450 it also meant "unchaste, lewd" (until 1734).^[5][8] In the 17th century it was also used for "ugly, hideous" (1653–1725).^[5] The modern sense, of actions at odds with fair and straightforward dealing, and so fraudulent or thievish, is recorded from 1611, in the King James Bible;^[5][8] of people inclined to cheat or deceive, from 1752.^[5] Etymonline already lists "disposed to deceive or cheat" among the late 14th-century senses.^[6] Johnson (1755) defined it as "void of probity; void of faith", then "disgraceful" and "unchaste".^[13] A verb dishonest, to bring dishonour on or to violate the chastity of, borrowed from Old French deshonester, was used from 1382 and is now obsolete.^[5][10][14]

Timeline

• c. 1386 – dishonourable, shameful (obsolete by 1760), in Chaucer.^[5]
• c. 1390 – the noun dishonesty, in the Canterbury Tales.^[7]
• c. 1450 – unchaste, lewd (obsolete by 1734).^[5]
• 1611 – of actions, not straightforward; fraudulent, in the King James Bible.^[5]
• 1653 – ugly, unseemly to the sight (obsolete by 1725).^[5]
• 1752 – of people, inclined to cheat or defraud.^[5]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of a person, not honest; inclined to lie, cheat or deceive: a dishonest trader.^[15][14][5]
2. Of an action or statement, meant to mislead or defraud; fraudulent or unfair: a dishonest answer.^[15][14][5]
3. (obsolete, 1386–1760) Bringing dishonour; shameful.^[5][10][14]
4. (obsolete, 1450–1734) Unchaste, lewd.^[5][14][8]

Word family

• dishonestly

Related words

• dishonesty
• honest
• honesty
• dishonour
• honour

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
3. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
4. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
8. ^ a b c d e Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
10. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
11. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
12. ^ a b Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
13. ^ a b Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
14. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
15. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins