reverence
noun
- attitude of deep respect tinged with awe
verb
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L332838 on Wikidata ↗Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈɹɛv.ə.ɹəns/ / /ˈɹɛv.ɹəns/
noun
Etymology: From Middle English reverence (noun) and reverencen (verb), from Old French reverence and Latin reverentia, from Latin revereor (“to stand in awe, respect, revere”), from re- + vereor, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wer- (“to cover, heed, notice”).
- Veneration; profound awe and respect, normally in a sacred context.
“Professional hunters and trackers die too, in the pursuit of dangerous animals every year. Stones and his client voice reverence for what they call “fair chase”: an ethical distinction observed in certain sporting circles in which the quarry is felt to have a sporting chance of survival.”
- An act of showing respect, such as a bow.
“August 2, 1758, Oliver Goldsmith, A Letter from a Traveller Make twenty reverences upon receiving […] about twopence.”
- The state of being revered.
“When discords, and quarrels, and factions, are carried openly and audaciously, it is a sign the reverence of government is lost.”
- A form of address for some members of the clergy.
“Your Reverence”
- That which deserves or exacts manifestations of reverence; reverend character; dignity; state.
“Thou hast so wrong'd mine innocent child and me That I am forced to lay my reverence by.”
verb
Etymology: From Middle English reverence (noun) and reverencen (verb), from Old French reverence and Latin reverentia, from Latin revereor (“to stand in awe, respect, revere”), from re- + vereor, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wer- (“to cover, heed, notice”).
- To show or feel reverence to.
“I reverence every precept / And promise in Thy word”