dignity means the state of being dignified or worthy of esteem: elevation of mind or character. It carries an Arena rating of 1515, earned across 2 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, dignity ranks #2,621 of 17,052 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words, #2,759 of 17,052 for Most Sublime Words, #2,824 of 17,052 for Most Ponderous Words, #3,056 of 17,052 for Most Elegant Words.
dignity is pronounced /ˈdɪɡnɪti/.
Why “dignity” is a great word
The state or quality of being worthy of honor, respect, or esteem, often manifested in composed and serious conduct. From Middle English dignyte, from Old French dignité, from Latin dignitās ("worthiness, merit, dignity, grandeur"), from dignus ("worthy"), first attested in English c. 1200. Unlike "respect" (which is deference shown from without) or "honor" (which is a public accolade received), dignity is the intrinsic gravity one carries from within. It is the straightening of a spine under a heavy load, the careful folding of a worn coat, the steady gaze in the face of injustice—a quiet insistence that some worth is not conferred but possessed, an inalienable territory of the self.
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.
noun
- The state of being dignified or worthy of esteem: elevation of mind or character.e.g.“He uttered this ... with great majesty, or, as he called it, dignity.”
- Decorum, formality, stateliness.
- High office, rank, or station.
- One holding high rank; a dignitary.e.g.“These filthy dreamers […] speak evil of dignities.”
- Fundamental principle; axiom; maxim.e.g.“Sciences concluding from dignities, and principles known by themselves.”
- Respect.
Words closest in meaning
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