Reverence

Definitions: Reverence

Reverence

Noun

1. A profound fear inspired by a deity.

2. A reverent mental attitude.

Verb

1. Be in awe of; "Fear God as your father".

Date "reverence" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1010. (references)

Domain	Definitions
Satire	REVERENCE, n. The spiritual attitude of a man to a god and a dog to a man. Source: Devil's Dictionary.
Slang in 1811	REVERENCE. An ancient custom, which obliges any person easing himself near the highway or foot-path, on the word REVERENCE being given him by a passenger, to take off his hat with his teeth, and without moving from his station to throw it over his head, b. Source: 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Synonyms: Reverence

Synonyms: awe (n), veneration (n), fear (v), revere (v), venerate (v). (additional references)

Antonym: irreverence (n). (additional references)

Context	Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus).
Clergy	Dignitaries of the church; ecclesiarch, hierarch; ebdomarius; eminence, reverence, elder, primate, metropolitan, archbishop, bishop, prelate, diocesan, suffragan, dean, subdean, archdeacon, prebendary, canon, rural dean, rector, parson, vicar, perpetual curate, residentiary, beneficiary, incumbent, chaplain, curate; deacon, deaconess; preacher, reader, lecturer; capitular; missionary, propagandist, Jesuit, revivalist, field preacher.
Impiety	Hypocrisy; (falsehood); pietism, cant, pious fraud; lip devotion, lip service, lip reverence; misdevotion, formalism, austerity; sanctimony, sanctimoniousness; adj; pharisaism, precisianism; sabbatism, sabbatarianism; odium theologicum, sacerdotalism; bigotry; (obstinacy), (prejudice); blue laws.
Piety	Noun: piety, religion, theism, faith; religiousness, holiness; Adjective: saintship; religionism; sanctimony; (assumed piety); reverence; (respect); humility, veneration, devotion; prostration; (worship); grace, unction, edification; sanctity, sanctitude; consecration.
Respect	Verb: respect, regard; revere, reverence; hold in reverence, honor, venerate, hallow; esteem; (approve of); think much of; entertain respect for, bear respect for; look up to, defer to; have a high opinion of, hold a high opinion of; pay attention, pay respect; n. to; do honor to, render honor to; do the honors, hail; show courtesy; salute, present arms; do homage to, pay homage to; pay tribute to, kneel to, bow to, bend the knee to; fall down before, prostrate oneself, kiss the hem of one's garment; worship.
	Noun: respect, regard, consideration; courtesy; attention, deference, reverence, honor, esteem, estimation, veneration, admiration; approbation.
Title	Highness, excellency, grace; lordship, worship; reverence, reverend; esquire, sir, master, Mr., signor, se$or, Mein Herr, mynheer; your honor, his honor; serene highness; handle to one's name.
Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus.

Domain	Usage
Screenplays	Now by yond marble heaven, in the due reverence of a sacred vow, I here engage my words. (Othello; writing credit: William Shakespeare; Oliver Parker)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Domain	Title
Books	From Reverence to Rape (reference) Of God and Pelicans: A Theology of Reverence for Life (reference) Reverence for the Soul (reference) Reverence for Wood (reference) With Reverence for the Word: Medieval Scriptural Exegesis in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (reference) (more book examples)

Theater & Movies	War & Reverence (reference) (more DVD examples; more video examples)

Music	Reverence (reference) Reverence [US] (reference) (more classical music examples; more popular music examples)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Thumbnail	Description & Credit	Thumbnail	Description & Credit
	Preserving the reverence for life : the challenge of AIDS.Credit: National Library of Medicine.		Ferdinand Cortes and Hernando de Soto in the camp of the Inca at Caxamalca. The order of his court and the reverence with which his subjects approached his person, astonished the Spaniards / drawing by C. Colin.Credit: Library of Congress.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Author	Quotation
Decimus Junius Juvenal	The greatest reverence is due the young.
Frank Lloyd Wright	Respect the masterpiece. It is true reverence to man. There is no quality so great, none so much needed now.
Henry Bolingbroke	Pride defeats its own end, by bringing the man who seeks esteem and reverence into contempt.
Johnson	Dead counsellors are the most instructive, because they are heard with patience and reverence.
Plato	Let parents bequeath to their children not riches, but the spirit of reverence.
Pythagoras	Above the cloud with its shadow is the star with its light. Above all things reverence thyself.
Ralph Waldo Emerson	Sunday is the core of our civilization, dedicated to thought and reverence.
Sextus Propertius	Every man now worships gold, all other reverence being done away.
Thomas Hobbes	The praise of ancient authors proceeds not from the reverence of the dead, but from the competition and mutual envy of the living.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Author	Date	Quotation
John Locke	1690	It is true, he has annexed two limitations to it, to no purpose: First, He says, it must be with reverence. (Second Treatise of Government)
Marbury v. Madison	1803	That it thus reduces to nothing what we have deemed the greatest improvement on political institutions -- a written constitution -- would of itself be sufficient, in America, where written constitutions have been viewed with so much reverence, for rejecting the construction. (reference)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Title	Author	Quote
Scarlet Letter	Hawthorne, Nathaniel	Satan dropped it there, I take it, intending a scurrilous jest against your reverence.
King Richard III	Shakespeare, William	More bitterly could I expostulate, Save that, for reverence to some alive, I give a sparing limit to my tongue.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Subject	Topic	Quote
Health		The properties of the sun that have inspired such reverence include its light (visible radiation) and its warmth (infrared radiation). (references)
Economic History	China	Science and technology have always preoccupied Chinas leaders; indeed, China's leading technocrats--both Jiang and Zhu were trained as electric power engineers--have a great reverence for science. (references)
Lexicography	Devil's Dictionary	ELECTRICITY, n. The power that causes all natural phenomena not known to be caused by something else. It is the same thing as lightning, and its famous attempt to strike Dr. Franklin is one of the most picturesque incidents in that great and good man's career. The memory of Dr. Franklin is justly held in great reverence, particularly in France, where a waxen effigy of him was recently on exhibition, bearing the following touching account of his life and services to science: "Monsieur Franqulin, inventor of electricity. This illustrious savant, after having made several voyages around the world, died on the Sandwich Islands and was devoured by savages, of whom not a single fragment was ever recovered." Electricity seems destined to play a most important part in the arts and industries. The question of its economical application to some purposes is still unsettled, but experiment has already proved that it will propel a street car better than a gas jet and give more light than a horse.
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

Speaker	Term	Phrase(s)
Warren G. Harding	1921-1923	Let us express renewed and strengthened devotion, in grateful reverence for the immortal beginning, and utter our confidence in the supreme fulfillment.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

"Reverence" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 98.45% of the time. "Reverence" is used about 258 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted)

Parts of Speech	Percent	Usage per 100 Million Words	Rank in English
Noun (singular)	98.45%	254	18,599
Noun (proper)	1.55%	4	175,879
Total	100.00%	258	N/A

Expressions using "reverence": his reverence ♦ save your reverence ♦ saving your reverence ♦ Sir reverence ♦ To do reverence. Additional references.
Hypenated Usage
	Ending with "reverence": near-reverence, Self-reverence.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com.

Language		Translations for "reverence"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses.
Albanian		përkulje (bend, Bob, bow, crouch, curtsey, curtsy, curvature, droop, flection, flex, flexion, flexure, incurvation, incurvature, inflection, sag, stoop, warp), nderim (compliments, consideration, credit, curtsey, curtsy, deference, devoirs, distinction, esteem, estimation, homage, honor, honour, obeisance, respect, respectability, respectfulness, salute, veneration). (various references)

Arabic		‏مهابة (dignity, portliness, sublimity, veneration), ‏توقير (adoration, obeisance, veneration), ‏تبجيل (esteem, magnification, veneration), ‏إنحناءة احترام, ‏إحترام (consideration, courtesy, deference, esteem, estimation, homage, honor, honour, obeisance, prestige, regard, reputability, respect, respects). (various references)

Bulgarian		уважение (admiration, consideration, credit, deference, duty, esteem, estimation, homage, honor, honour, obeisance, observance, piety, regard, respect, worship), реверанс (curtsey, curtsy, obeisance, scrape), тача (keep, preserve, respect, revere, venerate, worship), благоговение (awe, veneration), преподобие, почит (esteem, homage, honor, honour, obeisance, regard, respect, worship), поклон (bow, curtsey, obeisance, salaam). (various references)

Chinese		尊敬 (respect, respectfully, revere). (various references)

Czech		vážnost (estimation, gravity, seriousness, severity, solemnity, sternness), úcta (awe, deference, esteem, estimation, obeisance, piety, regard, reputation, respect, tribute, veneration). (various references)

Farsi		حرمت (Revere, Sanctity), تکریم (Tribute, Veneration), احترام گذاردن (Defer), احترام (Curtsy, Obeisance, Regard, Respect, Respectability, Revere, Tribute, Veneration). (various references)

Finnish		kunnioitus (esteem, regard, respect, veneration). (various references)

French		respect (regard, respect), révérence, vénération (respect). (various references)

German		Ehrfurcht (awe, respect), Pietät (piety, respect). (various references)

Greek		σέβασ (awe, homage, regard, respect), σεβασμιότητα, ευλάβεια (devotion, devoutness, piety, prayerfulness, regardfulness, sanctimony). (various references)

Hebrew		מורא (awe, fear, fright, respect), יראת כבוד (awe, homage, respect, veneration), הערצה (admiration, adoration, esteem, veneration). (various references)

Hungarian		hódolat (deference, homage, obeisance, veneration), tisztelet (adoration, awe, cult, dread, esteem, honor, honour, regard, respect, tribute, veneration), nagyrabecsülés (appreciation, dread). (various references)

Indonesian		sembah, penghormatan (accolade, homage). (various references)

Italian		riverenza (curtsey, curtsy, piety, respect), venerazione (adoration, enshrinement, veneration, worship). (various references)

Japanese Kanji		恭敬 (respect, veneration), 崇敬 . (various references)

Japanese Katakana		ぎょうぼう (look to, look up to, looking intently), すうけい, きょうけい (respect, veneration), そんすう (veneration), そんしん, きんぼ (admiration, adoration), そんけい (an elder brother, elderly person, esteem, honour, respect), うやまい (esteem, honor, respect, veneration), いけい (awe, respect), いく (awe, fear, how many?, how much?, several, some, to go), あおぎのぞみ (look to, look up to), けいぎょう (admiration, adoration, love of virtue), けいしん (gullibility, piety, weak earthquake), けいこう (admiration, adoration, aroma, carrying, fame, fluorescence, fragrance, go right ahead, honor, inclination, love of virtue, mouth of a chicken, oral, perfume, tendency, trend). (various references)

Manx		arrym (honour, respect, solemnity, veneration). (various references)

Pig Latin		everenceray

Portuguese		reverenciar (adore, bow, curtsy, hallow, hold in esteem, honor, honour, kotow, kowtow, respect, revere, worship), reverência (awe, bow, curtsey, curtsy, homage, obeisance), venerar (adore, ester, hallow, honor, honour, respect, revere, venerate), veneração (cult, dread, regard, veneration, worship), vênia (compliment, curtsey, curtsy), mesura (bow, curtsey, curtsy, obeisance), grande respeito. (various references)

Romanian		reverenţã (bow, curtsey, curtsy, esteem, obeisance, respect), respect (consideration, deference, duty, esteem, estimation, homage, obeisance, observance, observancy, regard, respect), veneraţie (awe, veneration, worship), stima (esteem, hold, hold in estimation, reckon, respect, revere), sfinţie (holiness), plecãciune (bow, inclination, nod, obeisance), onoare (credit, dignity, distinction, esteem, Favor, favour, glory, honor, honour, reputation, repute), adoraţie, admiraţie (admiration, appreciation, veneration, wonder), admira (admire, respect, venerate). (various references)

Russian		поклон (bow, regards). (various references)

Scottish		urram (deference, honour, respect), fiamh (a trace, aspect, awe, hue, tinge), eisimeil (dependence, obligation). (various references)

Serbo-Croatian		poštovanje (deference, esteem, estimation, regard, respect, respects, tribute). (various references)

Spanish		reverencia (Bob, bow, bowing, curtsey, curtsy, drawing, obeisance). (various references)

Swedish		vördnad (awe, obeisance, obeisence, veneration), pietet (piety). (various references)

Turkish		reverans (bow, curtsey, curtsy), saygı ile eğilme, hayranlık (admiration, adoration, compliment, enthusiasm, love, wonder), hürmet (deference, homage, honor, honour, obeisance, regard, respect, tribute, veneration), derin saygı. (various references)

Turkmen		yzzat (awe, respect 1). (various references)

Ukranian		глибоко поважати (revere), глибока повага, благоговіти, благоговіння (awe). (various references)

Vietnamese		sự tôn kính (cult, deference, duty, homage, veneration), lòng sùng kính, lòng kính trọng. (various references)

Welsh		parchu (respect, revere), parchedigaeth, parch (respect), addolgarwch (devoutness). (various references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references.

Language	Period	Translations
Latin	500 BCE-Modern	adora, adorabant, adorabat, adorabimus, adorabis, adorabit, adorabitis, adorabo, adorabunt, adoramus, adorando, adorandum, adorans, adorant, adorante, adorantes, adorare, adorarem, adorarent, adoraret, adorari, adorassent, adorasset, adorasti, adorat, adorate, adoratis, adorato, adoraturus, adoraverimus, adoraverint, adoraveris, adoraverit, adoraveritis, adoravero, adoraverunt, adoravi, adoravit, adoravitque, adorem, adoremus, adorent, adores, adoret, adoretis, adoretisque, adoro, caerimoniae, caerimonias, caerimoniis, revereamur, revereantur, reverearis, reverebamur, reverebitur, reverebuntur, reveremini, reverentia, reverentiam, reveriti, reveritus, reveritusque, saluto, veneratio, veneratione, venerationem, venerationis. (various references)
Avestan	200-600	nemangha. (various references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Language	Date	Source	Matthew Chapter 21, Verse 37
Greek (transliterated)	250 BC	Septuagint	Usteron de apesteilen proV autouV ton uion autou legwn entraphsontai ton uion mou
Latin	405	Vulgate	Novissime autem misit ad eos filium suum dicens verebuntur filium meum
Old English	990	West Saxon	Eft nexstan he sende hys sune heomto. & cwæð. Hyo for-wandigeð þæt hyo nedoð minen sunen swa.
Middle English	1395	Wyclif	And at the laste he sente his sone to hem, and seide, Thei schulen drede my sone.
Renaissance English	1526	Tyndale	But last of all he sent vnto the his awne sonne sayinge: they will feare my sonne.
Jacobean English	1611	King James	But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son.
Victorian English	1833	Webster	But last of all he sent to them his son, saying, They will reverence my son.
Basic English	1964	Ogden	But after that he sent his son to them, saying, They will have respect for my son.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Language	Matthew Chapter 21, Verse 37
Cebuano	Ug sa katapusan, kanila ang iyang anak gipaadto niya nga nag-ingon, `Motahud sila sa akong anak.`
Chinese	後來打發他的兒子到他們那裡去、意思說、他們必尊敬我的兒子。
Croatian	"Naposljetku posla k njima sina svoga misleæi: 'Poštovat æe mog sina.'
Danish	Men til sidst sendte han sin Søn til dem og sagde: De ville undse sig for min Søn.
Dutch	En ten laatste zond hij tot hen zijn zoon, zeggende: Zij zullen mijn zoon ontzien.
Finnish	Mutta viimein hän lähetti heidän luokseen poikansa sanoen: `Minun poikaani he kavahtavat`.
French	Enfin, il envoya vers eux son fils, en disant: Ils auront du respect pour mon fils.
German	Darnach sandte er seinen Sohn zu ihnen und sprach: Sie werden sich vor meinem Sohn scheuen.
Hungarian	Utoljára pedig elküldé azokhoz a maga fiát, ezt mondván: A fiamat meg fogják becsülni.
Indonesian-Bahasa Sehari-hari	Akhirnya tuan tanah itu mengirim kepada mereka anaknya sendiri. 'Pasti anak saya akan dihormati,' pikirnya.
Indonesian-Terjemahan Lama	Pada akhirnya disuruhkannya kepada mereka itu anaknya laki-laki, katanya: Tak dapat tiada orang dusun itu akan menghormatkan anakku ini.
Manx Gaelic	Agh er-jerrey ooilley hug eh huc e vac, gra, Bee ad arrymagh da my vac.
Maori	Na, muri rawa iho, ka tono ia i tana tama ki a ratou, i mea ia, E hopohopo ratou ki taku tama.
Norwegian	Men til sist sendte han sin sønn til dem og sa: De vil undse sig for min sønn.
Portuguese	Por último enviou-lhes seu filho, dizendo: A meu filho terão respeito.
Rumanian	La urmq, a trimes la ei pe fiul squ, zicknd: ,Vor primi cu cinste pe fiul meu!`
Russian	оБЛПОЕГ, РПУМБМ ПО Л ОЙН УЧПЕЗП УЩОБ, ЗПЧПТС: РПУФЩДСФУС УЩОБ НПЕЗП.
Shuar	Amúamunam ni Uchirín akupeak "Winia uchir asamtai umirkachartimpiash" timiai.
Swahili	Mwishowe akamtuma mwanawe huku akifikiri: `Watamheshimu mwanangu.`
Swedish	Slutligen sände han till dem sin son, ty han tänkte: 'De skola väl hava försyn för min son.'
Uma	Ka'omea-na, na'uli': `Agina ana' -ku moto-mi kupahawa' hilou, bate rapengkorui-i mpai'.'
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Derivations
	Words beginning with "reverence": reverenced, reverencer, reverencers, reverences. (additional references)
	Words ending with "reverence": irreverence. (additional references)
	Words containing "reverence": irreverences. (additional references)
Misspellings
	"Reverence" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: everance, everence, refence, refernce, regerence, reuerence, revalence, revelence, revenence, reverance, Reveron, rev'renc. (additional references)
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references).

# of Phoneme Matches	Pronunciation	Word(s) rhyming with "reverence" (pronounced re"veruns)
7	r e" v er u n s	irreverence.
6	-e" v er u n s	severance.
5	-v er u n s	deliverance.
4	-er u n s	belligerence, conference, deference, difference, endurance, exuberance, furtherance, ignorance, indifference, inference, intolerance, preference, protuberance, reference, temperance, tolerance, utterance.
3	-u n s	abeyance, abhorrence, absence, abstinence, abundance, acceptance, accordance, acquaintance, acquiescence, adherence, admirations, admittance, adolescence, affluence, allegiance, alliance, allowance, ambiance, ambience, ambivalence, ambulance, annoyance, appearance, appliance, arrogance, ascendance, assistance, assurance, attendance, audience, avoidance, balance, beneficence, benevolence, bioscience, brilliance, cadence, capacitance, chrominance, circumference, clairvoyance, Clarence, clearance, coexistence, cognizance, coherence, coincidence, coinsurance, comeuppance, competence, compliance, concurrence, condolence, confidence, confluence, conformance, congruence, connivance, conscience, consequence, consistence, continuance, contrivance, convalescence, convenience, convergence, conveyance, correspondence, countenance, counterbalance, counterintelligence, credence, dalliance, decadence, Defeasance, defiance, dependence, deterrence, deviance, diligence, disallowance, disappearance, discontinuance, disobedience, dissidence, dissonance, distance, disturbance, divergence, dominance, ebullience, elegance, eloquence, emergence, eminence, entrance, equivalence, essence, evanescence, evidence, excellence, existence, expedience, experience, extravagance, flamboyance, Florence, forbearance, fragrance, governance, grievance, guidance, hindrance, imbalance, immanence, imminence, impatience, impedance, importance, impotence, imprudence, inadvertence, incidence, incoherence, incompetence, incontinence, inconvenience, independence, inductance, indulgence, inexperience, influence, inheritance, innocence, insignificance, insistence, insolence, instance, insurance, intelligence, interdependence, interference, intransigence, invariance, irrelevance, issuance, jurisprudence, licence, license, luminance, luminescence, maintenance, malfeasance, negligence, neuroscience, noncompliance, noninterference, nonviolence, nuisance, obedience, observance, obsolescence, occurrence, omnipotence, omnipresence, opulence, ordinance, Ordnance, overabundance, overconfidence, overdependence, overreliance, parlance, patience, penance, performance, permanence, persecutions, perseverance, persistence, pestilence, petulance, phosphorescence, pittance, precedence, predominance, preeminence, preponderance, prescience, presence, prevalence, prominence, provenance, Providence, province, prudence, pseudoscience, quintessence, radiance, reappearance, reassurance, recalcitrance, recognizance, reconnaissance, recurrence, reemergence, reinspections, reinsurance, relevance, reliance, reluctance, remembrance, reminiscence, remittance, repentance, resemblance, residence, resilience, resistance, resonance, resurgence, reticence, riddance, science, semblance, senescence, sentence, sequence, significance, silence, submergence, subservience, subsidence, subsistence, substance, surveillance, sustenance, teleconference, transcendence, transference, transience, turbulence, unbalance, Valence, variance, vehemence, vengeance, videoconference, vigilance, violence, virulence.
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams
	Words within the letters "c-e-e-e-e-n-r-r-v"
	-1 letter: veneerer.
	-3 letters: evener, revere, veneer.
	-4 letters: nerve, never, reeve.
	-5 letters: cere, erne, even, ever, neve, veer.
	Words containing the letters "c-e-e-e-e-n-r-r-v"
	+1 letter: reverenced, reverencer, reverences.
	+2 letters: irreverence, reverencers.
	+3 letters: irreverences, perseverance.
	+4 letters: overenergetic, perseverances.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro.