TIME-HONOURED

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does time-honoured mean? 

• TIME-HONOURED (adjective)
  The adjective TIME-HONOURED has 2 senses:

1. acceptable for a long time

2. honored because of age or long usage

  Familiarity information: TIME-HONOURED used as an adjective is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• TIME-HONOURED (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Acceptable for a long time

Synonyms:

time-honored; time-honoured

Context example:

time-honored customs

Similar:

reputable (having a good reputation)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Honored because of age or long usage

Synonyms:

time-honored; time-honoured

Context example:

time-honored institutions

Similar:

honorable; honourable (worthy of being honored; entitled to honor and respect)

 Context examples 

Then I caught my breath as I read the time-honoured title of the great nobleman and statesman whose wife she had been.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

There is little evidence available to support or refute these sayings, so, to put an end to this uncertainty, researchers at Witten/Herdecke University in Germany and the University of Cambridge in the UK evaluated scientifically whether or not this time-honoured wisdom truly reduces a hangover burden.

(Wine before beer, or beer before wine? Either way, you’ll be hungover, University of Cambridge)

As I looked out of the coach window, and observed that an old house on Fish-street Hill, which had stood untouched by painter, carpenter, or bricklayer, for a century, had been pulled down in my absence; and that a neighbouring street, of time-honoured insalubrity and inconvenience, was being drained and widened; I half expected to find St. Paul's Cathedral looking older.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)