esteem

 
Pronunciation: /ɪˈstiːm, ɛ-/

noun

[mass noun]
  • respect and admiration: he was held in high esteem by colleagues

verb

[with object]
  • 1respect and admire: many of these qualities are esteemed by managers (as adjective, with submodifier esteemed) a highly esteemed scholar
  • 2 formal consider; deem: [with two objects]: I should esteem it a favour if you could speak to them

Origin:

Middle English (as a noun in the sense 'worth, reputation'): from Old French estime (noun), estimer (verb), from Latin aestimare 'to estimate'. The verb was originally in the Latin sense, also 'appraise' (compare with estimate), used figuratively to mean 'assess the merit of'. Current senses date from the 16th century