deference

noun

Etymology: From French déférence. Morphologically defer + -ence.

1. Great respect.

   “The children treated their elders with deference.”

2. The willingness to carry out the wishes of others.

   “By tidying his room, he showed deference to his mother.”

   “Michael in turn benefits from Tom. He loosens up a bit, stops talking so much like one of the bad novels he used to read, and learns to give his intellect a rest once in a while in deference to the emotions.”