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Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

dignity en · NOUN

Pronunciation

  • (US) audio
  • /ˈdɪɡnɪti/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English dignyte, from Old French dignité, from Latin dignitās (“worthiness, merit, dignity, grandeur, authority, rank, office”), from dignus (“worthy, appropriate”), from Proto-Italic *degnos, from Proto-Indo-European *dḱ-nos, from *deḱ- (“to take”). See also decus (“honor, esteem”) and decet (“it is fitting”). Cognate to deign. Doublet of dainty. In this sense, displaced native Old English weorþsċipe, which became Modern English worship. It also displaced native Old English hād (“honor, dignity”).

Meanings

  1. (countable, uncountable) The state of being dignified or worthy of esteem: elevation of mind or character.
    • Historically, dignity has been ascribed to an elite group, but human dignity with reference to humanity and the human family has democratized dignity. […]. The idea of dignity as rank was carried over in Christian doctrine […]. 2021, Magdalena Smieszek, “A Brief History of Dignity”, in The Evolving Psyche of Law in Europe: The Psychology of Human Rights and Asylum Frameworks, page 205:
    • He uttered this ... with great majesty, or, as he called it, dignity. 1751 December (indicated as 1752), Henry Fielding, chapter VIII, in Amelia. […], volume I, London: […] [William Strahan] for A[ndrew] Millar […], →OCLC:
    • Every individual shall have the right to the respect of the dignity inherent in a human being. 1981, African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, art. 5:
  2. (countable, uncountable) Decorum, formality, stateliness.
    • The presence of an attorney from Washington, he wrote, "would lend dignity to the proceedings," and it also would "remove the questions of local prejudices and faction from the picture and would have a very fine effect upon the jury." 2000, Shawn Francis Peters, Judging Jehovah's Witnesses: Religious Persecution and the Dawn of the Rights Revolution, page 120:
    • The reception room was sacred to the dead wife. Her shiny portrait hung upon the wall - similar, doubtless, in all respects to the one which would be pasted on her tombstone. A little piece of black drapery had been tacked above the frame to lend a dignity to woe. But two of the tacks had fallen out, and the effect was now rakish, as that of a drunkard's bonnet. 1905, E. M. Forster, Where Angels Fear to Tread, chapter 7, third paragraph
    • Official DIGNITY tends to increase in inverse ratio to the importance of the country in which the office is held. 1934, Aldous Huxley, “Puerto Barrios”, in Beyond the Mexique Bay:
  3. (countable, uncountable) High office, rank, or station.
    • He ... distributed the civil and military dignities among his favourites and followers. 1781, Edward Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, F. III. 231:
    • And the king said, What honour and dignity hath been done to Mordecai for this? 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Esther 6:3:
    • Note the preſumption of this Scythian ſlaue: I tel thee villaine, thoſe that lead my horſe Haue to their names tytles of dignitie, And dar’ſt thou bluntly cal me Baiazeth? c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire; London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act III, scene iii:
  4. (countable, uncountable) One holding high rank; a dignitary.
    • These filthy dreamers […] speak evil of dignities. 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Jude 1:8:
  5. (countable, obsolete, uncountable) Fundamental principle; axiom; maxim.
    • Sciences concluding from dignities, and principles known by themselves. 1650, Thomas Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica: […], 2nd edition, London: […] A[braham] Miller, for Edw[ard] Dod and Nath[aniel] Ekins, […], →OCLC:
  6. (countable, proscribed, sometimes, uncountable) Respect.
    • That in such an undertaking, if put on its right footing, and treated with dignity by the State, you would have the cheerful assistance of the first scientific teachers who have turned their philosophy to such practical uses, I have no doubt. a'''. 1873, Edward Bulwer-Lytton, “Prefatory Memoir”, in Speeches of Edward, Lord Lytton Now First Collected. With Some of His Political Writings Hitherto Unpublished, volume 13, published 1874, page xl:
    • In my twenty years of ministry I have found that the minister was treated with dignity when he was dignified, that he was accorded authority and leadership when he was worthy of it. 1916 March 9, Howard T. Cree, The Christian Century, page 7:
    • In the animal kingdom, spiders are a lot like Rodney Dangerfield — they get no respect, says Sebastian Echeverri, a 2019 American Association for the Advancement of Science Mass Media Science & Engineering Fellow. 2019 October 18, Lenore T. Adkins, “Scientist Sebastian Echeverri Treats Spiders with the Dignity They Deserve”, in AAAS blog:
    • Patients and residents shall be treated with dignity and kindness at all times. 1988, “Licensing of Long-term Care Facilities”, in Code of Massachusetts regulations, 1988, section 150.015, page 3013:
    • Students must always be treated with dignity 2011, Kimberly Persiani, Steve Springer, The Organized Teacher's Guide to Classroom Management, page 7:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
dignitie alternative, obsolete lexicographic
dignities Number=Plur lexicographic

Coordinates

nobility · augustness · majesty · grandeur · glory · humanness · wonderfulness · superiority

Deriveds

dignitude · undignity · stand on one's dignity · stand upon one's dignity

Relateds

dignify · deign · self-worth · self-esteem · affirmation · integrity · dignified · self-respect

Synonyms

worthiness · worth

Translations (171)

tl dignidad (quality or state) · fa وَرج (quality or state) · he כָּבוֹד (quality or state) · fi arvonimi (high office or rank) · es dignidad (formality, stateliness) · eo digno (quality or state) · pl godność (quality or state) · fa شَأن (quality or state) · hi गरिमा (quality or state) · ga maorgacht (formality, stateliness) · de Förmlichkeit (formality, stateliness) · fo tignarlæti (quality or state) · pl dostojeństwo (high office or rank) · is reisn (quality or state) · ga ardchéim (high office or rank) · tg манзалат (quality or state) · uz viqor (quality or state) · fo sómi (quality or state) · ota شان (quality or state) · ia dignitate (high office or rank) · fi muodollisuus (formality, stateliness) · fa مَنزِلَت (quality or state) · yi ווערדע (quality or state) · fa کَرامَت (quality or state) · nb verdighet (quality or state) · grc βάρος (formality, stateliness) · rm dignità (quality or state) · ru зва́ние (high office or rank) · ps وقار (quality or state) · tg виқор (quality or state) · is virðuleiki (quality or state) · vi nhân phẩm (quality or state) · da værdighed (quality or state) · uk гі́дність (quality or state) · si අභිමානය (quality or state) · de Amt (high office or rank) · ko 존엄 (quality or state) · my အသရေ (quality or state) · sh достоја̀нство (quality or state) · tr şeref (quality or state) · grc σεμνότης (quality or state) · fr dignité (high office or rank) · ur وَقار (quality or state) · sq denjësi (quality or state) · ms maruah (quality or state) · id martabat (quality or state) · af waardigheid (quality or state) · de Würde (quality or state) · ur عِزَّت (quality or state) · th ศักดิ์ศรี (quality or state) · ang weorþsċipe (quality or state) · sv värdighet (quality or state) · ar عِزَّة (quality or state) · cs důstojnost (quality or state) · hi इज़्ज़त (quality or state) · fa عِزَّت (quality or state) · fo virðileiki (quality or state) · es juzgaduría (high office or rank) · bg титла (high office or rank) · ast dignidá (quality or state) · fr dignité (quality or state) · es dignidad (high office or rank) · hi मर्यादा (quality or state) · hu méltóság (quality or state) · es dignidad (quality or state) · ar شَرَف (quality or state) · gv ardcheim (high office or rank) · ro demnitate (quality or state) · kw dynita (quality or state) · mk достоинство (quality or state) · sq hir (quality or state) · kmr rûmet (quality or state) · hu illem (formality, stateliness) · be го́днасць (quality or state) · lv cieņa (quality or state) · az ləyaqət (quality or state) · ga dínit (quality or state) · nl plechtigheid (formality, stateliness) · ga dínit (formality, stateliness) · cop ⲧⲓⲙⲏ (quality or state) · ia dignitate (quality or state) · cy urddas (quality or state) · lo ສັກສີ (quality or state) · lt orumas (quality or state) · la dignitās (quality or state) · gv mooaralys (quality or state) · chr ᎠᏢᏉᏙᏗ (quality or state) · fi arvoasema (high office or rank) · ar وَقَار (quality or state) · uz martaba (quality or state) · ky нарк (quality or state) · enm dignyte (quality or state) · ga uaisleacht (formality, stateliness) · nl waardigheid (high office or rank) · sl dostojanstvo (quality or state) · eu duintasun (quality or state) · ps حيثيت (quality or state) · rm dignitad (quality or state) · grc πρόστασις (formality, stateliness) · ru сан (high office or rank) · mt dinjità (quality or state) · it dignità (quality or state) · ar مَنْزِلَة (quality or state) · an dinidat (quality or state) · tr haysiyet (quality or state) · fi juhlavuus (formality, stateliness) · te గౌరవం (quality or state) · lb Dignitéit (quality or state) · ru до́лжность (high office or rank) · fi arvokkuus (quality or state) · enm deynte (quality or state) · fr rang (high office or rank) · haw kapukapu (quality or state) · nl waardigheid (quality or state) · mi amarutanga (quality or state) · mi amarutanga (formality, stateliness) · ru досто́инство (quality or state) · fo manslæti (quality or state) · haw hanohano (quality or state) · ca dignitat (quality or state) · tg каромат (quality or state) · uk досто́їнство (quality or state) · el αξιοπρέπεια (quality or state) · mr मोठेपण (quality or state) · ar شَأْن (quality or state) · cmn 尊嚴 /尊严 (quality or state) · ar كَرَامَة (quality or state) · ky кадыр (quality or state) · pt dignidade (quality or state) · rm dignited (quality or state) · tk mertebe (quality or state) · enm dignyte (high office or rank) · am ክብር (quality or state) · ota ناموس (quality or state) · fa شَرَف (quality or state) · mn нэр хүнд (quality or state) · ps شان (quality or state) · fo tign (quality or state) · az şərəf (quality or state) · ta கண்ணியம் (quality or state) · hu méltóság (high office or rank) · ota اورند (quality or state) · tg шараф (quality or state) · sq dinjitet (quality or state) · bn মর্যাদা (quality or state) · fa وَقار (quality or state) · or ମର୍ଯ୍ୟାଦା (quality or state) · ka ღირსება (quality or state) · ja 尊厳 (quality or state) · tg иззат (quality or state) · io digneso (quality or state) · hy արժանապատվություն (quality or state) · km សេចក្ដីថ្លៃថ្នូរ (quality or state) · ga ardchéim (formality, stateliness) · fr forme (formality, stateliness) · sk dôstojnosť (quality or state) · ga gradam (quality or state) · be дасто́інства (quality or state) · ko 존엄성 (quality or state) · kk қадір-қасиет (quality or state) · yo iyì (quality or state) · sh dostojànstvo (quality or state) · mwl denidade (quality or state) · my သိန် (quality or state) · et väärikus (quality or state) · gl dignidade (quality or state) · tg шаън (quality or state) · bg досто́йнство (quality or state) · gd urram (quality or state) · ga ardchéim (quality or state) · pl dostojność (high office or rank)

wikipedia: Modern English