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adoration

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Etymology and origin of the English word adoration

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
c. 1443 R. Pecock, Reule of Crysten Religioun
Borrowed from
Middle French adoration
Ultimate origin
Latin adōrō

Pronunciation

  • /ˌæ.dəˈɹeɪ.ʃən/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle French adoration (“act of worship”), earlier adoracion, and its source borrowed from Latin adōrātiō (“act of worship or prayer”),[2][3][4][5] formed from the past participle stem of adōrō (“to worship”) and the noun suffix -tiō,[2][3][6] the source of adore.[6] The French word is recorded from about 1328.[2] The Latin verb meant to speak to formally or to pray to, from ad- (“to”) and ōrō (“to speak formally, pray”).[6][5] The OED compares Spanish adoración, Portuguese adoração and Italian adorazione.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The act of showing profound reverence, especially the worship of God or a god: about 1443, in Pecock's Reule of Crysten Religioun.[2] The Shorter Oxford dates the word to the early 16th century and Etymonline to the 1540s.[4][6]

Semantic evolution

Etymonline notes that the word keeps the original religious sense of adore.[6] From 1567 it was also used of deep respect or fervent love for a person.[2][4] Johnson (1755) defined it as the outward homage paid to God, as distinct from inner reverence.[7] In the Roman Catholic Church adoration named a way of electing a pope by the cardinals bowing to their chosen candidate (1605),[2][4][3] and in art a picture of the worship of the infant Jesus (1662).[2] A rare 17th-century use for kissing a person's hand rested on a mistaken derivation of the Latin verb from ōs (“mouth”).[2]

Timeline

  • c. 1443 – worship of God or a god; veneration.[2]
  • 1567 – deep respect, fervent admiration or love.[2]
  • 1605 – a method of electing a pope.[2]
  • 1614 – kissing a person's hand as a mark of honour (obsolete by 1645).[2]
  • 1662 – a work of art showing the adoration of Jesus.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Deep love, admiration or esteem: He gazed at his newborn son with adoration.[8][3][2]
  2. The act of worshipping, especially of God.[8][3][2]
  3. A work of art showing the Magi or shepherds worshipping the infant Jesus.[2]
  4. (Roman Catholic Church) A way of electing a pope in which the cardinals bow to their chosen candidate.[3][2][4]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d e Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  6. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  8. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Adoration.” Etymologically, 2 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/adoration. Accessed 2 Nov. 2026.

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