Dignity
Etymology
From Latin "dignitas" (worth, merit, rank, standing), from "dignus" (worthy). In Rome it named rank and office — a "dignitary" still carries that sense of station. Modern moral thought, especially after Kant, pried dignity loose from rank and made it a universal property of persons: worth that is not earned or ranked but simply had.
noun · /DIG-nuh-tee/
The inherent worth of a person, and the bearing that reflects a sense of that worth.
What it names
Reach for it to name both the value a human being holds simply by being one, and the composed self-respect that refuses to be degraded.
Example
Even in the shelter, she kept her dignity — measured, courteous, refusing to be pitied.
Related idea
Prestige and status are conferred and comparative — you have more or less than others; dignity in its modern sense is unconferrable and equal, something you can be denied recognition of but not actually stripped of.