esteem means assessment, estimation, or regard; especially; favourable estimation or regard. It carries an Arena rating of 1658, earned across 5 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, esteem ranks #593 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #935 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #1,972 of 17,130 for Most Beautiful Words, #3,412 of 42,747 for Qualifying.
esteem is pronounced /ɪˈstiːm/.
Why “esteem” is a great word
Favorable regard or respect for a person, a measured and thoughtful valuation. From Middle French *estimer*, from Latin *aestimāre* ("to value, appraise, estimate"), first attested in English as a noun in the mid-14th century meaning 'value, worth,' with the sense of 'high regard' emerging by the early 17th century. Unlike "respect," often a formal deference to position or rule, or "estimate," a cold calculation of quantity, esteem is the quiet arithmetic of character, a personal calculus of admiration. It is the genuine nod from a peer whose judgment you trust, the steady, unspoken confidence placed in a friend's integrity, the slow-earned light in a mentor's eyes—the fragile and necessary currency by which we appraise each other’s souls.
Etymology
First at end of 16th century; borrowed from Middle French estimer, borrowed from Latin aestimō. See estimate and aim, an older word, partly a doublet.
noun
- Assessment, estimation, or regard; especially; favourable estimation or regard.e.g.“We hold her in high esteem.”
verb
- To set a high value on; to regard with respect or reverence.e.g.“Will he esteem thy riches?” — 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Job 36:19:
- To regard something as valuable; to prize.
- To look upon something in a particular way.e.g.“Then he forsook God, which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation.” — 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Deuteronomy 32:15:
- To judge; to estimate; to appraisee.g.“The Earth, which I esteem unable to reflect the rays of the Sun.”
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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