glorify

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English glorifien,^[2][3][4] borrowed from Old French glorefiier, also glorifier,^[2][5][6][7] from Late Latin glōrificō (“to glorify”),^[6][5][8][4] which the OED, the Shorter Oxford and the Oxford Dictionary of English derive from glōrificus,^[6][7][9] from Latin glōria (“fame, renown, praise, honour”) and faciō (“to make”).^[6][5] Etymonline calls the origin of glōria uncertain,^[5] and traces faciō to Proto-Indo-European *dhe- (“to set, put”).^[5] Anglo-Norman had the verb from the first half of the 12th century.^[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

To exalt to the glory of heaven, or invest with glory: before 1340, in R. Rolle's Psalter.^[6] In 1340 the Ayenbite has it for ascribing glory to God and, reflexively, for boasting.^[6] Etymonline dates the word to the mid 14th century.^[5]

Semantic evolution

The word began in religion, of Christ or a soul exalted to heaven, and praise of God in worship is already recorded in Anglo-Norman.^[7][10][6] Etymonline dates the non-theological sense, "to praise highly", to the middle of the 15th century,^[5] whereas the OED's first record of extolling a person or thing is from 1557.^[6] Johnson (1755) lists first procuring honour for someone and second paying honour in worship.^[11] A physical sense followed about 1504, of casting a glorious light on something, and formerly of embellishing it.^[6] The boastful reflexive sense, which Etymonline also finds in Chaucer, has faded and is rare now.^[5][6] A later development, from 1867, is to make something common or inferior seem finer,^[6] and Collins records making something seem more splendid or imposing than it is.^[12]

Timeline

• before 1340 – to exalt to the glory of heaven; to invest with glory.^[6]
• 1340 – to ascribe glory to God; reflexive, to boast.^[6][2]
• c. 1504 – to cast a glorious light on; to embellish.^[6]
• 1557 – to extol or honour a person or thing with praise.^[6]
• 1658 – in alchemy, to refine.^[6]
• 1867 – to invest something common or inferior with charm.^[6]

Meanings

Verb

1. To make something seem more splendid or admirable than it really is: a film that glorifies gang life.^[12][6]
2. To praise highly; to extol.^[12][6]
3. To worship or give glory to God.^[12][13][6]
4. To make glorious; to exalt to the glory of heaven.^[12][13][6]
5. To make brilliant or splendid, as with light.^[13][6]
6. (rare) Reflexively, to boast or take pride.^[6][2]

Word family

• glorification
• glorifier
• glorifiable
• deglorify

Related words

• glory
• glorious
• gloria

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
3. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
4. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
9. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ a b Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
11. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
12. ^ a b c d e Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
13. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster