Etymologically
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respect

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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
  • 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