reverend

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English reverend, from Anglo-Norman reverend and Middle French reverend, and directly borrowed from Latin reverendus (“to be respected, venerable”),^[2][3][4][5] the gerundive of revereor (“to stand in awe of, revere”).^[6][7][8] The Latin verb is formed from re-, here perhaps an intensive, and vereor (“to fear, respect”),^[3] the source also of revere.^[4][6] In Old French the adjective is recorded from the 13th century, often as a title of a bishop or another senior cleric, as in reverend pere;^[2] the Anglo-Norman Dictionary has it from 1298, glossed "venerable", and as a title for a bishop in the phrase “Reverend Father”.^[9] Etymonline notes that the form reverent was also used in this sense in late Middle English.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

As a respectful epithet for members of the clergy: 1389, in a Scottish document printed among the Wemyss family papers,^[2] where the OED's revised entry antedates Barnhart's 1428.^[4] Etymonline dates the adjective, "worthy of deep respect", to the early 15th century.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The word was at first an honorific adjective, used before or after a clergyman's name or in addressing him ("reverend father"),^[2] and it was used from 1422 also in courteous address to laymen, a use that died out in the 19th century.^[2] From about 1440 it described any person venerable for age, character or rank, a use now somewhat archaic;^[2][8] it was applied to things and places inspiring reverence from 1443.^[2] Johnson (1755) gave as its first sense "venerable; deserving reverence", and as its second "the honorary epithet of the clergy".^[10] As a title prefixed to a clergyman's name it is recorded from 1579, at first for a particularly respected divine;^[2] its general use dates from the 1640s.^[3][4] The graded titles Most Reverend, Right Reverend and Very Reverend date from 1681,^[2] and are used of archbishops, bishops and deans.^[3] The short form Revd is recorded from the 1690s, Rev from 1721.^[3] The noun, a clergyman, appears in 1547 according to the OED and Merriam-Webster,^[2][5] about 1500 in Etymonline.^[3] In Lincolnshire, East Anglia and Dorset our Reverend or the Reverend was the parish clergyman.^[11] In American regional speech reverend could also mean strong or undiluted, of liquor, from 1826.^[2]

Timeline

• 1389 – a respectful epithet for a member of the clergy.^[2]
• 1422 – a courteous form of address (now obsolete).^[2]
• 1428 – Barnhart's first example of the adjective.^[4]
• c. 1440 – of a person, venerable.^[2]
• 1547 – noun, a member of the clergy.^[2][5]
• 1579 – used before a name as a title.^[2]
• 1681 – Most Reverend, Right Reverend, Very Reverend.^[2]
• 1721 – the short form Rev.^[3]
• 1826 – (US regional) strong, undiluted.^[2]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. A title of respect for a member of the clergy, usually written with a capital and abbreviated Rev or Revd: the Reverend Anne Hughes.
2. Of or relating to the clergy.
3. (archaic) Deserving reverence; venerable.

Noun

1. (informal) A member of the clergy; a minister or priest: The reverend called round on Sunday.

Word family

• reverendship

Related words

• revere
• reverence
• reverent

Usage notes

Collins regards Reverend with a surname alone (Reverend Jones), as a form of address on its own, and in a letter's salutation as generally incorrect, preferring forms such as the Reverend Peter Jones or Reverend Mr Jones.^[12] Dictionary.com lists reverend (worthy of reverence) and reverent (feeling or showing reverence) among words that are easily confused.^[13]

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 g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
7. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
8. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
10. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
11. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
12. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
13. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House