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dignity

noun
/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.

  1. derived from *dḱ-nos✻
  2. derived from dignitās
  3. derived from dignité
  4. inherited from dignyte

Definitions

  1. The state of being dignified or worthy of esteem

    The state of being dignified or worthy of esteem: elevation of mind or character.

    • He uttered this ... with great majesty, or, as he called it, dignity.
    • Every individual shall have the right to the respect of the dignity inherent in a human being.
    • 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 […].

  2. Decorum, formality, stateliness.

    • Official DIGNITY tends to increase in inverse ratio to the importance of the country in which the office is held.
    • 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."

  3. High office, rank, or station.

    • 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?
    • And the king said, What honour and dignity hath been done to Mordecai for this?
    • He ... distributed the civil and military dignities among his favourites and followers.
  4. ›+ 3 more definitions

    1. One holding high rank

      One holding high rank; a dignitary.

      • These filthy dreamers […] speak evil of dignities.

    2. Fundamental principle

      Fundamental principle; axiom; maxim.

      • Sciences concluding from dignities, and principles known by themselves.

    3. Respect.

      • 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.
      • Patients and residents shall be treated with dignity and kindness at all times.

The neighborhood

Derived

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

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at dignity. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

01dignity02stateliness03stately04impressive05impressed06affected07changed08undergone09undergo10beneath

A definitional loop anchored at dignity. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

10 hops · closes at dignity

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA