irreverent

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin irreverēns (“disrespectful”),^{[2][3][4][5][6][7]} and according to Etymonline and the Middle English Dictionary partly also borrowed from Old French irreverent.^[8][9] The OED compares Middle French irrévérent, recorded from the 15th century.^[2][9] The Latin adjective is formed from in- (“not”) and reverēns (“revering”), the present participle of revereor (“to stand in awe of, revere”).^[2][3][4][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Lacking respect or reverence: about 1460, in a manuscript of Chaucer's Parson's Tale, which says a man is irreuerent when he fails to honour where he ought to.^[9] Etymonline dates the word to the mid-15th century,^[8] and the OED's first quotation, from Fabyan's chronicle (before 1513), has the sense "not deserving reverence".^[2]

Semantic evolution

Because Old French reverent stood for Latin reverendus, English reverent and irreverent were first used also in the senses of reverend and irreverend, which came in later;^[2] so in the late 15th and early 16th century irreverent could mean "not worthy of reverence".^[2][6] The sense "showing no reverence for sacred or venerable things" is the OED's from 1550, in John Veron.^[2] Johnson (1755) defined it as not paying due homage or reverence, quoting Hooker, Raleigh and Milton.^[10] Modern dictionaries extend it from disrespect for the sacred to a light, cheeky or flippant manner.^[4][11] The adverb irreverently is recorded from the early 15th century.^[8]

Timeline

• c. 1460 – lacking respect or reverence, in a manuscript of Chaucer's Parson's Tale.^[9] The OED's first quotation for the sense is from 1550.^[2]
• before 1513 – not worthy of reverence (obsolete), in Fabyan's chronicle.^[2][6]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Lacking proper reverence or respect for something sacred or worthy of honour: Some of the congregation thought the new hymn irreverent.^{[4][11][2][10]}
2. Light, cheeky or flippant in a lively way: an irreverent comedy about office life.^[4][11]
3. (obsolete) Not deserving reverence; irreverend.^[2][6]

Word family

• irreverently

Related words

• irreverence
• reverent
• reverence
• revere
• reverend
• irreverend

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
4. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ 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
7. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
8. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
9. ^ 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)
10. ^ a b Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
11. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins