Esteem

Pronunciation

• IPA: É›sˈtiːm
• Rhymes: -iːm

Alternative forms

• æsteem archaic
• esteeme obsolete

Origin

First at end of 16th century; from Middle French estimer, from Latin aestimare ("to value, rate, weigh, estimate"); see estimate, and aim, an older word, partly a doublet of esteem.

Full definition of esteem

Noun

1. favourable regard

Derived terms

• self-esteem

Verb

1. To set a high value on; to regard with respect or reverence.
• Bible, Job xxxvi. 19Will he esteem thy riches?
• TennysonYou talk kindlier: we esteem you for it.
2. To regard something as valuable; to prize.
3. To look upon something in a particular way.Mary is an esteemed member of the community.
• Bible, Deuteronomy xxxii. 15Then he forsook God, which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation.
• Bishop GardinerThou shouldst (gentle reader) esteem his censure and authority to be of the more weighty credence.
• HawthorneFamous men, whose scientific attainments were esteemed hardly less than supernatural.
• 1843, Thomas_Carlyle, , book 3, ch. V, The EnglishAnd greatly do I respect the solid character, — a blockhead, thou wilt say; yes, but a well- conditioned blockhead, and the best-conditioned, — who esteems all ‘Customs once solemnly acknowledged’ to be ultimate, divine, and the rule for a man to walk by, nothing doubting, not inquiring farther.
4. (obsolete) To judge; to estimate; to appraiseThe Earth, which I esteem unable to reflect the rays of the Sun.

Anagrams

• Mestee