Etymologically
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dishonest

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Pronunciation

  • UK: /dɪˈsɒnɪst/[1]
  • US: /dɪˈsɑnɪst/[1]

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

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