HONOR

8 definitions found across Law Mind sources

HONORAuthored
The Law Mind • 1152 words
Definition
HONOR carries distinct meanings depending on context. In legal usage, three senses appear across the historical and modern corpus: 1. (verb, commercial law) To honor an instrument means to accept or pay a negotiable instrument — a bill of exchange, promissory note, draft, or check — in accordance with its terms when it is duly presented. A drawee honors a bill by accepting it; an acceptor or maker honors it by paying when due. Dishonor is the failure to accept or pay upon proper presentment. 2. (noun, English feudal law) An honor was a superior seignory — a lord's estate held in chief of the Crown upon which several subordinate manors depended. The term described both the jurisdictional dignity of the seignory and the territory comprising it. The feudal honor was extinguished as a practical institution by the Statute Quia Emptores (1290), which prohibited subinfeudation, and later by the Tenures Abolition Act (1660). New honors could thereafter be created only by Act of Parliament. 3. (noun, titles and dignitary usage) "Honor" appears in formal legal and governmental contexts to denote a position of official dignity — most commonly in the honorific "Your Honor," used when addressing judges, and in the phrase "honors of war," a term of the law of armed conflict. Military law uses "honorable" as the highest characterization of service upon discharge.
Common Language
Modern common usage (Wiktionary): Recognition of importance or value; respect; veneration; the state of being morally upright, honest, noble, and magnanimous; excellence of character; a token of praise such as a prize or award. Historical common usage (Webster's 1913): Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; that which rightfully attracts esteem — self-respect, dignity, courage, fidelity, excellence of character, high moral worth, virtue, nobleness. The common meaning of honor is broadly moral and reputational. The primary legal meaning — paying or accepting a negotiable instrument — has no obvious connection to that moral sense. A researcher encountering "honor" in a commercial law context must not import the dignity or virtue connotations; the word there is purely transactional and technical. Conversely, the feudal noun sense (the seignory) is a term of art entirely absent from ordinary modern English.
Common Confusion
HONOR / DISHONOR / PROTEST: These three terms form an interlocking chain in negotiable instruments law. Dishonor is the event that triggers protest rights and notice obligations. Protest is the formal notarial certification that dishonor occurred. Researchers examining pre-UCC commercial materials must treat all three as linked procedural concepts, not as independent terms. HONOR (feudal seignory) / MANOR: A manor was an inferior lordship; an honor was the superior seignory of which manors were dependent parts. The two are hierarchically related, not synonymous. Historical English property sources sometimes use them loosely, which can mislead.
Recognized Forms
/SUBTYPES HONOR (commercial verb): Acceptance for honor (supra protest) — a now-rare procedure by which a third party accepts a dishonored bill to preserve the credit of the drawer or endorser. Historically distinguished from payment for honor, where a third party pays a protested bill rather than accepting it. HONORABLE DISCHARGE (military): The highest characterization of service upon separation from the armed forces. Distinct from General Discharge (Under Honorable Conditions), Other Than Honorable (OTH) discharge, Bad Conduct Discharge (BCD), and Dishonorable Discharge — the latter two issued only by court-martial.
Why It Matters in Research
The commercial verb sense dominates American legal sources from the eighteenth century through the UCC era. Researchers working in negotiable instruments, banking, and commercial law will encounter "honor" as a term of art throughout: in cases dealing with letters of credit, drafts, checks, and trade acceptances. Under the UCC, Article 3 governs dishonor of negotiable instruments; Article 5 governs honor of letters of credit and defines honor explicitly. The shift from common law rules to UCC codification is a significant periodization point — pre-UCC sources use "honor" and "dishonor" within a procedural framework (presentment, protest, notice) that the UCC substantially simplified. The feudal seignory sense matters almost exclusively in English legal history research. American sources rarely use "honor" in the feudal sense because the feudal tenure system was never transplanted to the colonies in operative form. A researcher encountering "honor" in an early English property source — particularly anything involving tenure in capite or mesne lordship — should understand the term as designating a jurisdictional and territorial unit, not a moral quality. Military law researchers should note the strict hierarchy of discharge characterizations. "Honorable" in a veteran's benefits context is not merely a descriptor but a threshold eligibility term with concrete legal consequences for access to VA benefits, GI Bill entitlements, and other federal programs. The Law Mind Military Encyclopedia entry on Administrative Separations covers the procedural framework and board review processes that determine discharge characterization. Historical sources occasionally use "honor" in the dignitary sense — "courts of honor," "honors of war" — that may not correspond neatly to any of the above categories. These usages require context-specific reading.
Historical Dictionary Support
Bouvier and Rapalje & Lawrence are in agreement on both primary senses: the feudal English seignory and the commercial law verb meaning of acceptance or payment. Anderson's Dictionary of Law focuses on the commercial verb sense and provides the clearest operational definition: to accept a bill of exchange, or to pay a promissory note, according to its tenor. Rapalje & Lawrence's feudal treatment is the most detailed among the historical dictionaries consulted, correctly noting that the Statute Quia Emptores effectively foreclosed creation of new honors by common law means. Anderson's Greek etymology note (homologein — to assent, agree) is of linguistic interest but does not bear on practical usage in the corpus. None of the historical dictionaries consulted addresses the military discharge sense of "honorable," which is a twentieth-century development predating UCC codification of the commercial sense. This is a significant gap: researchers relying solely on these historical sources for military law contexts will find no guidance.
Jurisdictional Note
The UCC definition of "honor" in the letter of credit context (Article 5) is the operative standard in nearly all American jurisdictions, though states have varying adoption histories for UCC revisions. The feudal English seignory sense has no operative American equivalent. Military discharge characterization is exclusively a matter of federal law administered by the Department of Defense and individual service branches.
Encyclopedia Cross-Reference
Military Administrative Separations — Characterization (Honorable, General, OTH), Procedure, and Boards (The Law Mind Military, Veterans & Admiralty Law Encyclopedia)
Related Terms
Dishonor — Protest — Acceptance — Negotiable Instrument — Letter of Credit — Bill of Exchange — Presentment — Draft — Drawee — Seignory — Manor — Tenure in Capite — Quia Emptores — Discharge (Military) — Characterization of Service — Administrative Separation
HONORmain
Anderson's Dictionary of Law • 1890
v, 1. To accept a bill of exchange, or to pay a promissory note, according to its tenor. 14 Bl. Com. 182-88. 24 Bl. Com. 188-201. 33 Bl. Com. 340, 362. 4Gk. homologein, to assent, agree; homos, the same; log-, leg-, to speak. Syndics v. Gardenier, 9 Mart. o. s. 546 (1821). • Chapman v. McIlwrath, 77 Mo. 44 (1882). Roberts v. Donovan, 70 Cal. 110 (1886); Brandt, Sure. § 368.
HONORmain
Bouvier's Law Dictionary • 1928
In English Law. seigniory of a lord paramount. Com. 91. The 2 Bla. In Common Law. To accept a bill of exchange; to pay a bill accepted, or a pro- missory note, on the day it becomes due. 7 Taunt. 164; 1 Term 172.
HONORn.
Websters Unabridged Dictionary (1913) • 1913
Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect or reverence. A prophet is not without honor, save in his own country. Matt. xiii. 57. That which rightfully attracts esteem, respect, or consideration; self-respect; dignity; courage; fidelity; especially, excellence of character; high moral worth; virtue; nobleness; specif., in men, integrity; uprightness; trustworthness; in women, purity; chastity. If she have forgot Honor and virtue. Shak. Godlike erect, with native honor clad. Milton. A nice sense of what is right, just, and true, with course of life correspondent thereto; strict conformity to the duty imposed by conscience, position, or privilege. Say, what is honor 'T is the finest sense Of justice which the human mind can frame, Intent each lurking frailty to disclaim, And guard the way of life from all offense Suffered or done. Wordsworth. I could not love thee, dear, so much, Loved I not honor more. Lovelace. That to which esteem or consideration is paid; distinguished position; high rank. "Restored me to my honors." Shak. I have given thee . . . both riches, and honor. 1 Kings iii. 13. Thou art clothed with honor and majesty. Ps. civ. 1. Fame; reputation; credit. Some in theiractions do woo, and affect honor and reputation. Bacon. If my honor is meant anything distinct from conscience, 't is no more than a regard to the censure and esteem of the world. Rogers. A token of esteem paid to worth; a mark of respect; a ceremonial sign of consideration; as, he wore an honor on his breast; military honors; civil honors. "Their funeral honors." Dryden. A cause of respect and fame; a glory; an excellency; an ornament; as, he is an honor to his nation. A title applied to the holders of certain honorable civil offices, or to persons of rank; as, His Honor the Mayor. See Note under Honorable. A seigniory or lordship held of the king, on which other lordships and manors depended. Cowell. Academic or university prizes or distinctions; as, honors in classics. The ace, king, queen, and jack of trumps. The ten and nine are sometimes called Dutch honors. R. A. Proctor. Affair of honor, a dispute to be decided by a duel, or the duel itself. -- Court of honor, a court or tribunal to investigate and decide questions relating to points of honor; as a court of chivalry, or a military court to investigate acts or omissions which are unofficerlike or ungentlemanly in their nature. -- Debt of honor, a debt contracted by a verbal promise, or by betting or gambling, considered more binding than if recoverable by law. -- Honor bright! An assurance of truth or fidelity. [Colloq.] -- Honor court (Feudal Law), one held in an honor or seignory. -- Honor point. (Her.) See Escutcheon. -- Honors of war (Mil.), distinctions granted to a vanquished enemy, as of marching out from a camp or town armed, and with colors flying. -- Law, or Code, of honor, certain rules by which social intercourse is regulated among persons of fashion, and which are founded on a regard to reputation. Paley. -- Maid of honor, a lady of rank, whose duty it is to attend the queen when she appears in public. -- On one's honor, on the pledge of one's honor; as, the members of the House of Lords in Great Britain, are not under oath, but give their statements or verdicts on their honor. -- Point of honor, a scruple or nice distinction in matters affecting one's honor; as, he raised a point of honor. -- To do the honors, to bestow honor, as on a guest; to act as host or hostess at an entertainment. "To do the honors and to give the word." Pope. -- To do one honor, to confer distinction upon one. -- To have the honor, to have the privilege or distinction. -- Word of honor, an engagement confirmed by a pledge of honor.
HONORv.
Websters Unabridged Dictionary (1913) • 1913
To regard or treat with honor, esteem, or respect; to revere; to treat with deference and submission; when used of the Supreme Being, to reverence; to adore; to worship. Honor thy father and thy mother. Ex. xx. 12. That all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. John v. 23. It is a custom More honor'd in the breach than the observance. Shak. To dignify; to raise to distinction or notice; to bestow honor upon; to elevate in rank or station; to ennoble; to exalt; to glorify; hence, to do something to honor; to treat in a complimentary manner or with civility. Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delighten to honor. Esther vi. 9. The name of Cassius honors this corruption. Shak. To accept and pay when due; as, to honora bill of exchange.
honornoun
Wiktionary (English) • 2026
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Recognition of importance or value; respect; veneration (of someone, usually for being morally upright or successful). | The state of being morally upright, honest, noble, virtuous, and magnanimous; excellence of character; the perception of such a state; favourable reputation; dignity. | A token of praise or respect; something that represents praiseworthiness or respect, such as a prize or award given by the state to a citizen. | A privilege (which honors the person experiencing it). | The privilege of going first. | The privilege of going first. | The right to play one's ball before one's opponent. | A cause of respect and fame; a glory; an excellency; an ornament. | A seigniory or lordship held of the king, on which other lordships and manors depended. | The center point of the upper half of an armorial escutcheon (compare honour point). | In bridge, an ace, king, queen, jack, or ten especially of the trump suit; in some other games, an ace, king, queen or jack. | In bridge, an ace, king, queen, jack, or ten especially of the trump suit; in some other games, an ace, king, queen or jack. | a dragon or wind tile. | (Courses for) an honours degree: a university qualification of the highest rank.
honorintj
Wiktionary (English) • 2026
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On one's honor; truthfully.
Honorname
Wiktionary (English) • 2026
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A female given name from English. | A surname.

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