Honour like a knight in French city, missing grand reception at start (7)
I believe the answer is:
ennoble
'honour' is the definition.
(ennobling is a kind of honouring)
'knight in french city missing grand reception at start' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'knight' could be 'n' (chess abbreviation) and 'n' is found within the answer.
'grand' could be 'noble' (similar in meaning) and 'noble' is found in the answer.
A single letter 'e' remains which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
'like a' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for ennoble that I've seen before include "Raise to the knighthood or make more dignified" , "Glorify - raise to the peerage" , "Give rank or title to (someone)" , "Bestow high rank upon" , "Elevate; honour" .)