respectable

Etymology

It is formed from English respect + -able,^[2][3][4][5] from the verb according to the OED and Etymonline,^[2][3] from the noun according to the Shorter Oxford.^[6] In the sense "worthy of respect" it follows French respectable, recorded in Middle French from about 1470;^[2][6] the OED also compares Spanish respetable (early 16th century), Portuguese respeitável (1672) and Italian rispettabile (1686).^[2] The base respect goes back to Latin respectus (“regard, a looking back”), from respiciō (“to look back at, regard”).^[7][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Worthy of notice or consideration: 1584, in a letter printed in the Letters & Papers of Lord Gray.^[2][4] Etymonline also dates this sense to the 1580s;^[3] it was obsolete after 1749.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The sense "worthy of respect, estimable" is recorded from 1603, in Florio's translation of Montaigne,^[2] or from the 1590s according to Etymonline.^[3] From 1750 a respectable person was one of good or fair standing in society, at first by rank and later by being thought of good character;^[2] from 1751 the word described behaviour or circumstances proper to such people.^[2] Etymonline dates the sense "having an honest reputation" to 1755, and that of being moderately well-to-do and of good moral standing to about 1800.^[3] From 1776 it could also mean decent in appearance or dress.^[2] At the same time it was weakened to "considerable in size or number" (1736) and to "tolerable, passable" (1750),^[2] senses Etymonline dates to 1755 and 1775.^[3] The noun, a respectable person, usually in the plural, is recorded from 1770.^[2][4] In the dialects of Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Norfolk the word was applied to people better off than the speaker, or of the lower middle class.^[8]

Timeline

• 1584 – worthy of notice or consideration (obsolete after 1749).^[2][4]
• 1603 – worthy of respect; admirable, estimable.^[2]
• 1736 – considerable in number, size or quantity.^[2]
• 1749 – used politely of a person, formerly in forms of address.^[2]
• 1750 – of comparative merit; tolerable, fair.^[2]
• 1750 – of a person, of good standing in society.^[2]
• 1770 – noun, a respectable person.^[2][4]
• 1776 – decent or presentable in appearance.^[2]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Having good social standing and a good reputation; behaving in a way that society accepts as proper: They moved to a respectable neighbourhood.
2. Deserving respect or esteem; worthy.
3. Fairly good or large; considerable: The team finished in a respectable fourth place.
4. Decent or presentable in appearance: Put on something respectable for the interview.

Noun

1. A respectable person; usually in the plural.

Word family

• respectableness
• respectably
• respectability
• nonrespectable
• semirespectable
• superrespectable
• ultrarespectable

Related words

• respect
• respectful
• respective

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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
3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
6. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
8. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)