debt of honor
1
7.8
- noun
- /dɛt əv ˈɒnər/
- US
:
deuda de honor
- After losing the bet, I felt a strong debt of honor to pay my friend the money I promised.
- owe a debt of honor
I, I am a pair of rescue men, but I'm still not earning or paying my debt of honor.
- I, I am a pair of rescue men, but I'm still not earning or paying my debt of honor.
Examples
-
Therefore, we would like you to finish the show till the end of the week... when, Mr. Graham can pay off his debt of honor.
-
George can be so demanding, and it is, after all, a debt of honor.
Fiction book (1991) -
These were debts of honor she could not bear to leave behind unpaid.
Fiction book (1995) -
We owe you a debt of honor and gratitude that we may never repay.
Blog text (26) -
That debt of honor that you came here to settle doesn't have anything to do with the Chief of Police, does it?
-
He refused to back out of the agreement, knowing it was a debt of honor that he had to uphold.
-
In his heart, he carried a debt of honor to his teammates for supporting him during tough times.
Synonyms
∞
2.6
An amount of money that you owe to someone
1
6.6
A feeling of thanks for someone's help that makes you feel you owe them
How Binding
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly built from 'debt' (an obligation) + 'of' (showing relation) + 'honor' (moral integrity), so a learner who knows those words can infer it refers to an obligation grounded in honour rather than law. This follows a common noun+of+noun compositional pattern and has close parallels in other languages, making the sense predictable for a B1 learner.
Etymology
Debt of honor comes from old gambling and promise-making customs. One popular story says that if a person lost at cards or gave their word, the law would not force them to pay, so their personal honor made the debt something they felt they must repay. That's why today it means a duty that is 'not legally enforceable' but 'morally binding'.