A code of honor or honor code is generally a set of rules or ideals or a mode or way of behaving regarding

honor Honour (British English) or honor (American English; see spelling differences) is the idea of a bond between an individual and a society as a quality of a person that is both of social teaching and of personal ethos, that manifests itself as a ...

that is socially, institutionally, culturally, and/or individually or personally imposed, reinforced, followed, and/or respected by certain individuals and/or certain cultures or societies. Codes of honor frequently concern (often subjective) ethical or moral considerations or cultural or individual

values In ethics and social sciences, value denotes the degree of importance of something or action, with the aim of determining which actions are best to do or what way is best to live (normative ethics in ethics), or to describe the significance of dif ...

and are commonly found in certain honor cultures or within the context of cultures, societies, or situations that place importance on honor. The term may specifically refer to: * An

academic honor code An academic honor code or honor system in the United States is a set of rules or ethical principles governing an academic community based on ideals that define what constitutes honorable behaviour within that community. The use of an honor co ...

* modes of thinking or conduct acceptable within an

honor culture Honour (British English) or honor (American English; see spelling differences) is the idea of a bond between an individual and a society as a quality of a person that is both of social teaching and of personal ethos, that manifests itself as a ...

and/or concerning

* a certain

code of conduct A code of conduct is a set of rules outlining the norms, rules, and responsibilities or proper practices of an individual party or an organization. Companies' codes of conduct A company code of conduct is a set of rules which is commonly writt ...

involving honor * various specific honor-based codes, such as ''

omertà Omertà (, ) is a Southern Italian code of silence and code of honor and conduct that places importance on silence in the face of questioning by authorities or outsiders; non-cooperation with authorities, the government, or outsiders, especiall ...

'',

chivalry Chivalry, or the chivalric code, is an informal and varying code of conduct developed in Europe between 1170 and 1220. It was associated with the medieval Christianity, Christian institution of knighthood; knights' and gentlemen's behaviours we ...

, various codes of silence, the

code duello A code duello is a set of rules for a one-on-one combat, or duel. Codes duello regulate dueling and thus help prevent Feud, vendettas between families and other social factions. They ensure that non-violent means of reaching agreement be exhauste ...

, the

Bushido code is a moral code concerning samurai attitudes, behavior and lifestyle. There are multiple bushido types which evolved significantly through history. Contemporary forms of bushido are still used in the social and economic organization of Japan. ...

, the Southern United States culture of honor, the Bedouin honor code, the '' Kanun'', the ''

mos maiorum The ''mos maiorum'' (; "ancestral custom" or "way of the ancestors," plural ''mores'', cf. English "mores"; ''maiorum'' is the genitive plural of "greater" or "elder") is the unwritten code from which the ancient Romans derived their social norms ...

'', the Barbagian Code, ''

Pashtunwali Pashtunwali or Pakhtunwali ( ps, پښتونولي) is the traditional lifestyle and is best described as a code of honor of the Pashtun people, by which they live. Scholars widely have interpreted it as being "the way of the Afghans" or "the code ...

'', '' izzat'', the

pirate code A pirate code, pirate articles, or articles of agreement were a code of conduct for governing pirates. A group of sailors, on turning pirate, would draw up their own code or articles, which provided rules for discipline, division of stolen goods, ...

, ''

javānmardi ''Javānmardi'' ( fa, جوانمردی) is a Persian word which refers broadly to the ideological or philosophical underpinnings an ethical system dominated by altruism, magnanimity and liberality linked to chivalry, and particularly spiritual chiva ...

'', ''

Emi Omo Eso Emi Omo Eso is the name ascribed to the moral code of the Eso Ikoyi warrior caste of the Yorubas of West Africa. Its literal translation is ''I am the child of an Eso''. History Following the establishment of the cavalry division of the imperial ar ...

'', ''

Futuwwa Futuwwa (Arabic: فتوة, "young-manliness" or "chivalry") was a conception of moral behavior around which myriad institutions of Medieval confraternity developed. With characteristics similar to chivalry and virtue, these communal associations of ...

'', and others * the

Cadet Honor Code In the United States, a Cadet Honor Code is a system of ethics or code of conduct applying to cadets studying at military academies. These codes exist at the federal service academies, such as the United States Military Academy and the United S ...

and

Honor Concept The Honor Concept and Honor Treatise are parts of the United States Naval Academy's Honor Program. Similar to the Cadet Honor Codes of the United States Military Academy and United States Air Force Academy, the Concept formalizes the requirement f ...

in the United States military * an

honor system An honor system or honesty system is a philosophical way of running a variety of endeavors based on trust, honor, and honesty. Something that operates under the rule of the "honor system" is usually something that does not have strictly enfo ...

* an

ethical code Ethical codes are adopted by organizations to assist members in understanding the difference between right and wrong and in applying that understanding to their decisions. An ethical code generally implies documents at three levels: codes of bus ...

Entertainment and literature

"Code of honor" is the name of several works of entertainment and literature, including: * ''Code of Honor'' (1930 film), a 1930 American western film *" Code of Honor (Star Trek: The Next Generation)", a ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'' episode * ''Code of Honor'' (2016 film), a 2016 film *''

Code of Honour Code of Honour (Chinese: 正义武馆) is a Malaysian-Singaporean television drama series and the fifth production by MediaCorp Studios Malaysia Sdn Bhd. It stars Elvin Ng , Rui En, Andie Chen , Paige Chua , Zheng Geping , Chris Tong & Tiffan ...

'', a Malaysian-Singaporean television drama series * ''

Code of Honor (novel) ''Code of Honor'' (stylized as ''Tom Clancy Code of Honor'', ''Tom Clancy: Code of Honor'', or ''Tom Clancy's Code of Honour'' in the United Kingdom) is a techno-thriller novel, written by Marc Cameron and published on November 19, 2019. It is his ...

'', a 2019 Tom Clancy novel

Other uses

Code of Honor (horse) Code of Honor (May 23, 2016 – December 23, 2022) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2019 Dwyer Stakes, Travers Stakes, and Jockey Club Gold Cup, and came second in the 2019 Kentucky Derby. He was euthanized on December 23, 2022 ...

, an American Thoroughbred horse *

Honor Code (horse) Honor Code (foaled March 1, 2011) is a Thoroughbred racehorse bred in Kentucky, USA. He was sired by A.P. Indy, son of Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew and out of mare Weekend Surprise, who was sired by another Triple Crown winner: Secretariat. ...

, an American Thoroughbred horse {{Disambig-cleanup, date=December 2022