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Kenneth G. Wilson (1923–).  The Columbia Guide to Standard American English.  1993.
 
honorable, honorary, honorific (adjs.), honorarium, honoree (nn.)
 
 
Honorable means “worthy of honor,” “being honest”; honorary is applied to anything given as an honor only, such as an honorary degree (as distinguished from an earned one) or an honorary office that requires no duties; honorific means “showing respect” (and functional shift makes it a noun, meaning “any term or title bestowed out of respect”); an honorarium is a sum given in payment to a professional the value of whose work is not otherwise specified (its plurals are either honorariums or honoraria; see also SALARY); an honoree is someone being honored. All these terms are Standard. See FOREIGN PLURALS.  1
 
 
The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. Copyright © 1993 Columbia University Press.

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