honorarium

American  

[on-uh-rair-ee-uhm] / ˌɒn əˈrɛər i əm /

noun

PLURAL

honorariums, honoraria

1. a payment in recognition of acts or professional services for which custom or propriety forbids a price to be set.

   The mayor was given a modest honorarium for delivering a speech to our club.

2. a fee for services rendered by a professional person.

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honorarium British  

/ ˌɒnəˈrɛərɪəm /

noun

1. a fee paid for a nominally free service

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Usage

What does honorarium mean? An honorarium is a payment for special, professional services that don’t technically require compensation or for which payment isn’t customarily given.An honorarium is usually given as an appreciative gesture for services outside of one’s normal job—it’s not a salary.More generally, it can refer to a one-time fee paid to a professional for their services.The correct plural of honorarium can be either honorariums or honoraria. Technically speaking, honoraria is the Latin-based plural form of honorarium. (Many other Latin-derived words can be pluralized in the same way, but many are rarely used, such as stadia as the plural for stadium.)Example: I was paid a modest honorarium for the summer poetry workshop that I led.

Etymology

Origin of honorarium

1650–60; < Latin honōrārium fee paid on taking office, noun use of neuter of honōrārius honorary

Example Sentences

The payments averaged about $4,100 a year, mostly as honoraria for talks and reimbursements for travel.

From Los Angeles Times

Dr. Waxman was not associated with the study but was paid a speaking honorarium by the company.

From New York Times

There is a cap of roughly $30,000 on outside pay for the justices, which mainly applies to teaching and other honorariums.

From New York Times

Ms. Haley listed a dozen speaking engagements, for each of which she reported an honorarium between $100,001 and $1 million.

From New York Times

He said Mattis listed the $100,000 honorarium figure on his application because he wanted the Marine Corps’ and State Department’s “most detailed and rigorous review” of his UAE speaking engagement.

From Washington Post