onestà

Onestà is the Italian virtue of honesty and integrity, encompassing truthfulness, reliability, and adherence to moral and social norms. In everyday usage, it can refer to truthful behavior in speech, fidelity to facts, and fair dealing in economic transactions. The term derives from Latin honestus meaning honorable and entered Italian during the Middle Ages as part of moral and social vocabulary. In contemporary Italian, onestà translates to honesty or integrity in both personal and public contexts.

Philosophically, onestà is discussed as a core element of virtue ethics: it requires alignment between what one believes, says, and does; intellectual honesty demands accurate representation of arguments and evidence; professional onestà relates to competence, transparency, and accountability in one’s work. The concept often functions as a standard for evaluating conduct across professions and disciplines.

In public and civic discourse, onestà is frequently invoked in anti-corruption and governance contexts, where officials are expected to act with onestà in public life and where businesses are urged to maintain transparent and fair practices. In everyday life, it also underpins trust in relationships and the obligation to keep promises and refrain from deception.

Relation to related concepts: onestà is closely linked to integrity (integrità) and veracity (verità) and can be distinguished from courage or loyalty, even as they may reinforce one another. In modern Italian usage, the phrase onestà intellettuale is common in scholarly writing to demand honesty in argumentation and citation.

See also: integrity, veracity, intellectual honesty.