dishonor

Etymology

The noun is inherited from Middle English dishonour, also deshonour,^[2][3][4] borrowed from Old French deshonor (modern déshonneur),^[5][3][6][7] formed from des- and honor (“honour”).^[3][7] The Anglo-Norman deshonur is recorded from 1155.^[8] The verb is inherited from Middle English dishonouren, also deshonouren,^[2][7] borrowed from Old French deshonorer,^[5][7][9] from Medieval Latin dishonōrō,^[5][10][9] which Etymonline describes as a reshaping of the classical dehonestō;^[5] it is formed from dis- and honōrō (“to honour”), from honor (“honour, dignity, office”), whose own origin is unknown.^[5][10]

Earliest recorded meaning

Etymonline dates the verb, to deprive of honour or disgrace, to the mid-13th century,^[5] but the 1989 edition of the OED has the verb only from 1388.^[11] The noun, lack of honour or a state of disgrace, is recorded from before 1300 in the OED,^[11] about 1300 in Etymonline,^[5] and the Middle English Dictionary quotes it from Arthour and Merlin.^[2]

Semantic evolution

In Middle English the noun meant disgrace or shame, and also a single dishonouring act, an indignity;^[2][11] the verb could mean to disgrace someone, to violate a woman, or to treat God or a saint irreverently.^[2][11] The noun has meant a cause or source of shame since 1553.^[11][5] Johnson (1755) defined the noun as "reproach; disgrace; ignominy", quoting Shakespeare's Macbeth.^[12] In the 19th century both words took on a commercial sense: to dishonour a bill is to refuse or fail to pay it (1811), and dishonour is that refusal (1834),^[11] the counterpart of the commercial sense of honour, to accept a bill, recorded from 1706.^[5]

Timeline

• mid-13th century – verb, to deprive of honour, to disgrace.^[5] The 1989 edition of the OED dates it to 1388.^[11]
• before 1300 – noun, lack of honour, disgrace.^[11][2]
• c. 1320 – an indignity or insult.^[11]
• 1393 – verb, to violate the chastity of.^[11]
• 1553 – a cause of shame.^[11][5]
• 1811 – verb, to refuse to pay a bill of exchange.^[11]
• 1834 – noun, the refusal to pay a bill.^[11]

Meanings

Noun

1. Loss or lack of honor or respect; disgrace or shame: He chose to resign rather than face dishonor.^[7][13]
2. A person or thing that brings shame: She called the decision a dishonor to the regiment.^[13][11]
3. An insult or indignity.^[13][11]
4. (commerce) Refusal or failure to pay a check, bill of exchange or similar document.^[13][11]

Verb

1. To bring shame on; to disgrace: His conduct dishonored the whole team.^[7][13]
2. To treat with disrespect.^[13][7]
3. (commerce) To refuse or fail to pay a check, bill of exchange or similar document.^[7][13][11]
4. (archaic) To violate the chastity of a woman.^[13][7]

Word family

• dishonorer

Related words

• honor
• dishonorable
• dishonest

Usage notes

The spelling dishonor is American, and British English writes dishonour.^[13][4][5]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
3. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
4. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
9. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
10. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
12. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
13. ^ a b c d e f g h i Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins