Origin: Latin suffix -ary
Honorary has 3 different meanings across 1 category:
An honorarium; a fee for services of no fixed value.
"The committee decided to accept an honorary payment from the sponsor as a token of appreciation for their time, even though it held no fixed monetary value."
In plain English: An honorary title is an award given to someone as a special honor without them having earned it through official work or qualifications.
"The new member was welcomed with an honorary degree from the university."
Given as an honor/honour, with no duties attached, and without payment.
"The local library appointed him an honorary member of its board in recognition of his lifelong contributions to reading promotion."
In plain English: Honorary means given as an honor without having to earn it through work or meeting normal requirements.
"The university awarded him an honorary doctorate for his contributions to science."
Usage: Use "honorary" to describe titles or positions that carry prestige but lack the responsibilities or salary typically associated with them. Do not confuse this adjective with "honorific," which refers specifically to language used to show respect rather than an official designation.
The word honorary comes from the Old French honoraire, which was modeled on the Latin honōrārius. It combines the root for "honor" with a suffix meaning "pertaining to," creating an adjective that describes something given as a mark of respect rather than for payment.