word of honour
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
A gage which cannot be violated without placing the breaker of it beyond the pale of respectability and good society.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “word of honour” mean?
A gage which cannot be violated without placing the breaker of it beyond the pale of respectability and good society.
Is “word of honour” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.