prestige

Definition

The quality of how good the reputation of something or someone is, how favourably something or someone is regarded.

Etymology

From French prestige (“illusion, fascination, enchantment, prestige”), from Latin praestīgium (“a delusion, an illusion”). Despite the phonetic similarities and the old meaning of “delusion, illusion, trick”, the word has a different root than prestidigitator (“conjurer”) and prestidigitation.

Example Sentences

• "Oxford has a university of very high prestige."
• "But in such an instance a false belief will appear with all the prestige of the latest scientific knowledge supporting it."
• "That faith which, we are told, was founded on a rock, impregnable to the assaults of men and demons; to the sophisms of infidelity, and the prestiges of imposture!"

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