Prestige is a good thing, right? Or at least, an expensive thing?

It surprised me to learn that prestige started out in English as a derogatory word. It meant "stage magic: a trick, an illusion, a way of deceiving people," tracing back to the Latin praestigium, meaning "trick, illusion," and more literally, "a tying before: a blindfolding, an act of dazzling the eyes." (You can break praestigium apart into prae ["before, in front of"] and stringere ["to tie, to bind."])

Looking at prestige with etymological X-ray vision, then, we see that it reads "before tying."

That helps explain why prestige resembles words like strict, strain, stress, restrict, constrict, constrain, and distress. They all trace back to stringere, "to tie, to bind."

So does our word str___en, which means "to push people into tight, narrow, awkward situations, often financial ones, where they barely have enough money to get by." Can you recall that one?

(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)  

"Prestige" has Latin bits that literally mean "a tying before," and starting in the 1600s, we used it in English to mean "a magic trick, or a way of tricking people." 

But by the time Napoleon (1769-1821) was leveraging his personal charisma to grab absolute power, the word "prestige" took on the more specific meaning of "a reputational magic trick: a glamour, a way of tricking people into thinking you're amazing, a person of integrity and high achievement." Here's an example from 1859: "The prestige with which [Napoleon] overawed the world is... the effect of stage-trick."

Over time, the sense of "trickery" disappeared from "prestige," leaving behind the sense of glamour, integrity, and achievement.

Today, prestige is a good thing: an excellent position in society, a reputation for being fantastic and better than most everything (or most everyone) else.

grammatical bits:

Part of speech:

Noun, usually the uncountable kind: "Harvard's prestige;" "the prestige of Harvard."

Sometimes the countable kind: "Harvard has a prestige that you can't deny."

And, sometimes an adjective: "Nature is a prestige journal;" "Tom Ford is a prestige makeup brand;" "Game of Thrones was a prestige show."

Other forms: 

The adjective is "prestigious," pronounced "press TIDGE us." Hear it here.

And the adverb is "prestigiously."

how to use it:

Pick the formal, very common word "prestige" when you want to sound serious as you point out someone's (or something's) stellar reputation—and you want to imply that they're unique, famous, luxurious, and admired.

Talk about people, schools, brands, musicians, movies, movie studios, publications and so on that have prestige, or that gain or lose prestige, or that bring or offer prestige.

examples:

"President Washington insisted that the new government had to develop a professional army that would enhance US prestige in the eyes of European countries."   
  — Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States, 2014

"The house is tucked into the Los Angeles hills, surrounded by well-to-do neighbors, including a bookstore owner and dermatologist. It's in Beverly Hills and has the famous zip code — 90210 — for prestige." 
   — Ashley Carman, The Verge, 11 June 2021

has this page helped you understand "prestige"?

Awesome, I'm glad it helped!

Thanks for letting me know!
If you have any questions about this term, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

study it:

Explain the meaning of "prestige" without saying "esteem" or "cachet."

try it out:

Phie Jacobs, a reporter for Science, reports that an unfair amount of scientific funding gets awarded to researchers at prestigious institutions.

These researchers benefit unjustly from "prestige privilege," Jacobs explains. If you're doing research in an institution like MIT and Stanford, you might benefit unjustly from securing funding that ought to have gone to someone from a lesser-known institution.

With scientific research in mind as an example, talk about another field or endeavor where you suspect (or know for a fact) that "prestige privilege" exists. Who is benefiting unjustly, just because they're more prestigious? And who is suffering unjustly, just because they're less prestigious?

If you like, use this space to write. (To save your work, copy and paste it into an email or a document.)

before you review, play:

Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.

Our game this month is "Words On Words On Birds."

Use your knowledge of vocabulary to answer questions about the terminology describing names for birds.

Try this last one today:

Bird names like Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus ("yellowhead yellowhead"), Cyanocitta cristata ("dark blue chattering crested"), and Rhipidura leucophrys ("white eyebrowed") are examples of

A. bionyms.
B. eponyms.
C. morphonyms.
D. toponyms.

Need a hint? Highlight the hidden text: Consider the meaning of words like "biome," "epicenter," "morph," and "topography."

To see the answer, scroll all the way down. 

review this word:

1. Opposites of PRESTIGE include

A. HINT and VESTIGE (a leftover piece or trace).
B. GENEROSITY and ALTRUISM (a focus on taking care of other people).
C. NOTORIETY (infamy, fame for a bad reason) and OBSCURITY (a state of being unknown to most people).

2. In "_____ for the Masses," Michael J. Silverstein and Neil Fiske coin the word "masstige," a blend of "mass" and "prestige" that describes products marketed as "_____."

A. Deprivation .. bare bones
B. Luxury .. premium but attainable
C. Fast Fashion .. affordable enough to be disposable

Answers to the review questions: 1. C 2. B From the game: Bird names like Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus ("yellowhead yellowhead"), Cyanocitta cristata ("dark blue chattering crested"), and Rhipidura leucophrys ("white eyebrowed") are examples of A. bionyms. B. eponyms. C. morphonyms. This is the correct answer. D. toponyms. Morphonyms (literally "shape names" or "form names") specify the creature's physical characteristics. A bionym, or "life name," indicates where the creature lives, such as the woods or the ocean. An eponym is most literally an "upon name" or a "called-after name," and it refers to a real or fictional person that the creature is named after. And a toponym, or "place name," indicates a creature's specific home, such as Chile or Madagascar.

a final word:

I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. From my blog: On vocabulary...       36 ways to study words.       Why we forget words, & how to remember them.       How to use sophisticated words without being awkward. On writing...       How to improve any sentence.       How to motivate our kids to write.       How to stop procrastinating and start writing.       How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count. From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.