veneration

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English veneracioun,^[2][3][4] borrowed from Old French veneracion,^[3][2] also Anglo-Norman veneratiun,^[2][5] and directly borrowed from Latin venerātiō (“reverence, profound respect”).^[6][2][4][7] The OED derives it only from the Latin noun and treats the French word, with Italian venerazione, Spanish veneracion and Portuguese veneração, as a parallel formation.^[6] The Latin noun is formed on the past participle stem of veneror (“to worship, revere”),^[3][7][6] a verb that first meant to seek the goodwill of a god,^[8][4] from venus (“love, desire”),^[9][3][4] from Proto-Indo-European *wen- (“to desire, strive for”).^[3][9] Barnhart compares Gothic 𐍅𐌴𐌽𐍃 (wēns, “hope, expectation”) and a Sanskrit verb meaning "loves, attains".^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Deep reverence, about 1410 according to Barnhart.^[4] The OED's first record, in a translation of Higden's Polychronicon dated before 1475, has it in the phrase to have in veneration or hold in veneration,^[6] and Etymonline's first sense is "solemn respect and reverence, religious worship" in the early 15th century.^[3] The Anglo-Norman word, meaning reverence or obeisance, is recorded from the late 12th century.^[5]

Semantic evolution

The first uses are religious or set phrases: about 1450, Dives and Pauper speaks of worschip of veneracioun.^[2] The word then widened from the feeling to its expression, the action of showing reverence, by about 1530,^[6][10] and to the condition of receiving it in 1625, in Bacon's Essays.^[6] Etymonline dates the general sense of high respect to the 1640s, while the OED's first such example is from 1683.^[3][6] The verb venerate, recorded from 1623, is probably a back-formation from the noun.^[4][3] Johnson (1755) defined veneration as "Reverend regard; awful respect", quoting Locke on the honour and veneration of the creator.^[11]

Timeline

• c. 1410 – reverence, as veneracioun.^[4][12]
• c. 1450 – religious worship, in Dives and Pauper.^[2]
• before 1530 – the action of showing reverence.^[6][10]
• 1625 – the condition of being venerated.^[6]
• 1628 – to be in veneration, obsolete by 1736.^[6]
• 1640s – high respect in general use.^[3] The OED has it from 1683.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. A feeling of deep respect mixed with awe, inspired by someone's wisdom or dignity or by something sacred.^[7][13][6]
2. The act of showing such respect, especially in worship: the veneration of ancient icons.^[7][10][13]
3. The condition of being venerated.^[6][10][13]

Word family

• venerational

Related words

• venereal
• Venus
• venerate
• venerable
• venom
• win

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f 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. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
5. ^ a b Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
9. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
10. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
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. ^ Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
13. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins