dishonesty

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English deshonestee, also dishonestee,^[2][3] borrowed from Old French deshonesté, also deshonnesté, recorded in the 13th century,^[4][5] now déshonnêteté.^[4] The Anglo-Norman noun is recorded from 1397, for dishonesty or an illegal practice, beside the adjective deshoneste (“dishonourable, base, improper, lewd”), from the late 12th century.^[6] The OED describes the French word, like dezonestat and disonestà, as a Romance formation on the adjective dishonestus after honestās (“honourableness”);^[4] the Shorter Oxford gives the adjective as dehonestus.^[7] Etymonline analyses it as des- (see dis-) and the Latin noun, which comes from honestus (“honourable, respectable”), from honōs (“honour, dignity, office, reputation”), of unknown origin.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Dishonour, disgrace, shame, or a disgraceful act: about 1386, in Chaucer's Parson's Tale;^[4] Etymonline dates it to the late 14th century.^[5] Skeat glosses Chaucer's deshonestee as "unseemliness".^[8]

Semantic evolution

The word first meant the opposite of honour rather than of truthfulness: dishonour and shame (about 1386 to 1596),^[4][7] sexual misconduct or lewdness (1535 to 1639),^[4][7] and for a time a foul or ugly appearance (about 1400 to 1535).^[4] The modern sense, lack of integrity and a readiness to deceive, cheat or steal, is recorded from 1600, in Shakespeare's Much Ado about Nothing,^[4] or from the 1590s in Etymonline's dating.^[5] Johnson (1755) still gave two senses: "want of probity; faithlessness; violation of trust", and "unchastity; incontinence; lewdness", quoting the Merry Wives of Windsor.^[9] Merriam-Webster marks dishonour and lewdness as obsolete.^[2]

Timeline

• c. 1386 – dishonour, disgrace, shame (obsolete by 1596).^[4]
• c. 1400 – a foul or ugly appearance, disfigurement (obsolete by 1535).^[4]
• 1535 – unchastity, lewdness (obsolete by 1639).^[4]
• 1600 – lack of honesty or integrity; a dishonest or fraudulent act.^[4] Etymonline dates this sense to the 1590s.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. Lack of honesty, fairness or integrity; a readiness to deceive, cheat or steal: The auditors were shocked by the dishonesty of the accounts.^[10][2][4]
2. A dishonest act or statement; a fraud.^[10][2][4]
3. (obsolete, 1386–1596) Dishonour, disgrace or shame.^[4][2][7]
4. (obsolete, 1535–1639) Unchastity, lewdness.^[4][2][9]

Related words

• dishonest
• honesty
• honest
• honour
• dishonour

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
3. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
7. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ Skeat, W. W., ed. (1894), The Complete Works of Geoffrey Chaucer, vol. VI: Glossarial Index, Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ 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.
10. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins