English

honor

Honor comes from Old French honor ‘honor’, and goes back to Old Latin honōs.

Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEhonōs¹
Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEhonor²‘honor’
Old Frenchc. 842–1400honor²‘honor’
Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400honour²
Middle Englishc. 1150–1500honour²
Englishearliest quotation 1523honor²

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

¹ Wiktionary, Latin honor
² Wiktionary, English honor
Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1523, Anthony Fitzherbert: “The lorde of the honour or manour”.

Lineage

Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEhonōs1Wiktionary, Latin honor
Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEhonor2Wiktionary, English honor‘honor’
Old Frenchc. 842–1400honor2Wiktionary, English honor‘honor’
Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400honour2Wiktionary, English honor
Middle Englishc. 1150–1500honour2Wiktionary, English honor
Englishearliest quotation 1523honor2Wiktionary, English honor. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1523, Anthony Fitzherbert: “The lorde of the honour or manour”

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with honor, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Latin honor ‘honor, esteem, dignity, reputation, office’

honourable ← honorable ← honōrābilis ← honōrō

through Old French honor

dishonour ← deshonor

6 more relatives in the full family tree

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Today it means

noun Recognition of importance or value; respect; veneration (of someone, usually for being morally upright or successful).

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “honor”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin honor. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Old Latin honōs / honor