honorary
English
Alternative forms
- honourary (archaic)
Pronunciation
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈɑn.əˌɹɛɹ.i/, enPR: ŏnʹə-rĕr'ē
Audio (Southern England): (file)
Etymology 1
From honor + -ary, modelled after French honoraire, from Latin honōrārius.
Adjective
honorary (not comparable)
- Given as an honor/honour, with no duties attached, and without payment.
- honorary degree; honorary citizen
- Voluntary.
- Unofficial; practically. Describes the holder of an unofficial position or title that is assigned as a special honor rather than by normal channels.
- Megsie is an honorary employee because she helps other customers while she shops here.
- I consider you an honorary member of our family because you've been with us for so long.
Derived terms
- honorarily
- honorary Aryan
- honorary authorship
- honorary colonel
- honorary consul
- honorary consulate
- honorary doctor
- honorary doctorate
- honorary mention
- honorary officer
- honorary steam engine
- honorary steam locomotive
- honorary title
- honorary trust
Translations
given as an honor
|
voluntary — see also voluntary
|
describes the holder of a position
Noun
honorary (plural honoraries)
- A person who holds an honorary appointment.
- (US) A kind of secret society that operates in name only, with membership given to honor some achievement.
Etymology 2
From Latin honōrārium.[1]
Noun
honorary (plural honoraries)
- An honorarium; a fee for services of no fixed value.
References
- ^ James A. H. Murray et al., editors (1884–1928), “Honorary”, in A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (Oxford English Dictionary), volume V (H–K), London: Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 367, column 1.