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honesto

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word honesto

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 250–184 BC, Plautus
Ultimate origin
Latin (honōs)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin honestus
French honnête
Latin inhonestus
Latin honeste
Latin honesto

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [hɔˈnɛs.toː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [oˈnɛs.to][1]

Forms

honestō (present infinitive honestāre, perfect active honestāvī, supine honestātum); first conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin honestus (“honourable, respectable”) + -ō.[2][3][1] De Vaan derives honestus from *hones-to-, built on honōs (“honour”), for which he finds no further etymology.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's first example is Plautus' Trinummus: “may this report bring you honour”.[2] In the Captivi a character thanks another for honouring him with so great an honour.[5]

Semantic evolution

It means to honour or give honour to someone, and to cause someone to be honoured, as Cicero of someone who not only relieved his misfortune but made it honourable.[2][5] Plautus also uses it of putting a good face on something: “dress up your words with deeds”.[2] Of things it is to grace or adorn, as Cicero's Paulus whose chariot the most powerful king graced.[2][5] Döderlein distinguishes it from honōrō: honōrāre is to pay someone particular respect, honestāre to give a lasting mark of honour.[6] Church Latin glosses it to make honourable, dignify.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus of bringing honour and of putting a good face on words.[2][8]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of an honoured misfortune and of a chariot graced by a king.[2][8]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To honour, give honour to; to cause to be honoured, dignify.[2][5][7][1]
  2. To put a good face on, give a respectable appearance to.[2]
  3. To grace, adorn, embellish.[2][5]

Word family

  • cohonestō
  • dehonestō
  • honestāmentum
  • inhonestō

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper
  7. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  8. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Honesto.” Etymologically, 19 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/honesto. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·