field of honor
1
9.9
- noun
- Archaic
:
campo de honor
- These 2 bold knights will choose weapons and enter upon the field of honor and fight in mortal combat until one of them lies dead.
Examples
-
Tradition has it that Gunn and Jackson met on the field of honor over all of this.
Academic text (2010) -
Good Sir Knight, you have proved your worth on the field of honor.
-
The two knights faced each other resolutely on the field of honor to defend their families' reputations.
-
In an age of chivalry, disputes were often settled on the field of honor through a duel.
-
He believed that any challenge to his honor should be resolved on the field of honor with courage and dignity.
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is compositionally transparent to the extent that 'field' = place and 'honor' = honor, so a B1 learner would infer it means a place associated with honor. However the conventionalized, historically specific sense 'the place where a duel is fought' is a cultural/historical extension that is not fully predictable from the words alone and thus requires prior exposure.
Etymology
Field of honor also names a place where two people met to fight a duel to defend their honor. So it means 'the place where a duel is fought to settle a personal insult'.