reverence

See also: révérence

English

Etymology

From Middle English reverence (noun) and reverencen (verb), from Old French reverence and Latin reverentia, from Latin revereor (“I stand in awe, respect, revere”), from re- + vereor, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wer- (“to cover, heed, notice”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɹɛv.ə.ɹəns/, /ˈɹɛv.ɹəns/
• Hyphenation: rev‧er‧ence

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛvɹəns

Noun

reverence (countable and uncountable, plural reverences)

1. Veneration; profound awe and respect, normally in a sacred context.
2. 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.

3. The state of being revered.
   • 1625, Francis [Bacon], “Of Seditions and Troubles”, in The Essayes […], 3rd edition, London: […] Iohn Haviland for Hanna Barret, →OCLC:

     When discords, and quarrels, and factions, are carried openly and audaciously, it is a sign the reverence of government is lost.

4. A form of address for some members of the clergy.

   your reverence

5. That which deserves or exacts manifestations of reverence; reverend character; dignity; state.
   • 1598–1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “Much Adoe about Nothing”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i]:

     Thou hast so wrong'd mine innocent child and me
     That I am forced to lay my reverence by.

Antonyms

• contempt
• blasphemy
• profanity

Derived terms

• reverent (a)
• revere (v)
• reverently (adv)
• save-reverence, sir-reverence, saving your reverence

Translations

veneration; profound awe and respect

• Bulgarian: почит (bg) f (počit), уважение (bg) n (uvaženie)
• Catalan: reverència (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Dutch: verering (nl), respect (nl), eerbied (nl)
• Finnish: kunnioitus (fi); jumalanpelko (fear of God)
• Galician: reverencia f
• German: Ehrfurcht (de) f, Bewunderung (de) f, Verehrung (de) f, Hochachtung (de) f
• Greek:

  Ancient: ἄγος n (ágos), σέβας n (sébas)

• Gujarati: આદર m (ādar), માન (gu) m (mān)
• Hindi: आदर (hi) m (ādar), मान (hi) m (mān), अदब (hi) m (adab), सत्कार (hi) m (satkār), इज़्ज़त f (izzat)
• Irish: urramacht f, urraim f, oirmhidin f, ardmheas m, ómós m
• Italian: riverenza (it) f
• Japanese: 崇敬 (ja) (sūkei)
• Latin: reverentia m
• Macedonian: по́чит m (póčit), почиту́вање n (počitúvanje)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: ærefrykt (no) m or f, ærbødighet (no) m or f

• Old Norse: heiðsæi
• Polish: rewerencja (pl) f
• Portuguese: deferência (pt) f, reverência (pt)
• Punjabi: ਅਦਬ (pa) m (adab), ਸਤਕਾਰ (pa) m (satkār)
• Russian: почита́ние (ru) n (počitánije), благогове́ние (ru) n (blagogovénije)
• Sanskrit: भजन (sa) n (bhajana), भक्ति (sa) f (bhakti)
• Spanish: reverencia (es) f, veneración (es) f
• Swedish: vördnad (sv)
• Tagalog: pakundangan
• Tocharian B: yarke, yärṣalñe
• Urdu: احترام m (ehterām)

act of showing respect

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Finnish: kunnioituksen osoitus
• Galician: reverencia f
• German: Ehrerbietung (de) f, Reverenz (de) f
• Latin: reverentia f
• Macedonian: ревера́нс m (reveráns)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: akt (no) m

• Portuguese: reverência (pt) f
• Russian: реверанс (ru) m (reverans)

state of being revered

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Finnish: kunnioitettavuus (fi)
• Irish: urramacht f, urraim f
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: ærefrykt (no) m or f, ærbødighet (no) m or f

• Russian: please add this translation if you can

form of address

• Bulgarian: преподобие n (prepodobie)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Finnish: pyhyys (fi), ylhäisyys (fi)
• Galician: reverencia f
• German: Reverenz (de) f
• Irish: oirmhinneach m
• Macedonian: преподо́бие n (prepodóbie)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: ærbødighet (no) m or f

• Russian: преподобие (ru) n (prepodobije)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• French: révérence (fr)
• Malayalam: ആരാധന (ml) (ārādhana)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: страхопоштовање n

  Roman: strahopoštovanje (sh) n

• Telugu: ఆరాధన (te) (ārādhana)

Verb

reverence (third-person singular simple present reverences, present participle reverencing, simple past and past participle reverenced)

1. (transitive) To show or feel reverence to.

   Synonyms: honour, venerate

Translations

to show reverence

• Bulgarian: почитам (bg) (počitam)
• Finnish: kunnioittaa (fi), osoittaa kunnioitusta
• Gothic: 𐌰𐌹𐍃𐍄𐌰𐌽 (aistan), 𐌲𐌰𐌰𐌹𐍃𐍄𐌰𐌽 (gaaistan)
• Latin: revereor
• Old Norse: drýgja heiðsæi

Middle French

Noun

reverence f (usually uncountable, plural reverences)

1. respect