respect

Pronunciation

• IPA: /rɪˈspekt/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English respecte, borrowed from Old French respect and directly borrowed from Latin respectus (“regard; a looking back”),^[2][3][4] the noun use of the past participle of respicere (“to look back at, regard, consider”),^[2][4][3] from re- (“back”) and specere (“to look at”),^[2][4] from Proto-Indo-European *spek- (“to observe”).^[2][4] It is a doublet of respite.^[3][5] The verb is from the noun, perhaps reinforced by Middle French respecter and Latin respectāre, a frequentative of respicere.^[3][2][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

“Relation, reference, regard”, as in the phrase in respect to: probably about 1380^[3] or the late 14th century.^[2] The OED's first quotation, to have respect to, is from about 1391.^[7]

Semantic evolution

“An aspect of a thing” is from the late 15th century, hence “a point, detail”, as in the phrase in some respects, from the 1580s.^[2] Consideration is from 1483, and high regard, esteem, from 1586.^[3][2] With all due respect is by the 1670s.^[2] The verb meant “to put off, neglect” in 1542, now obsolete,^[7] and “to regard, take into account” from 1548, in common use until about 1660.^[7][3] “To treat with deferential esteem” is from the 1550s,^[2] “to relate to” from the 1560s,^[2] and “to refrain from interfering with” from the 1620s.^[2]

Timeline

• c. 1380 – relation, regard.^[3]
• 1483 – consideration.^[3]
• 1542 – verb, to put off.^[7]
• 1548 – to take into account.^[7]
• 1550s – to esteem.^[2]
• 1580s – a point, detail.^[2]
• 1586 – high regard, esteem.^[3]
• 1620s – to refrain from interfering with.^[2]
• 1670s – with all due respect.^[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A feeling of deep admiration or esteem for someone.
2. Due regard for the feelings, rights or wishes of others.
3. A particular aspect or detail: in this respect.
4. (plural) Polite greetings: pay one's respects.

Verb

1. To feel or show esteem for.
2. To avoid harming or interfering with: respect the law.
3. To relate to; to concern.

Word family

• respecter
• self-respect
• disrespect
• respectable
• respectful
• respectability
• self-respecting

Related words

• respective
• respite
• aspect
• inspect
• prospect
• spectacle
• spy

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
5. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
6. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press