worship

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ˈwɜː.ʃɪp/, US /ˈwɝː.ʃɪp/^[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English wurrshipe, worschipe, inherited from Old English weorþscipe (“condition of being worthy, honour, renown”), Anglian worþscip,^[2][3][4] from Old English weorþ (“worthy, worth”) + -scipe (“-ship”) (see worth and -ship),^[2][4][5] literally “worthship”.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Old English weorþscipe, the condition of deserving esteem, honour, before 900 in Alfred's translation of Boethius.^[2][7][6]

Semantic evolution

At first it meant good name, credit, dignity or importance,^[6][3] and respect or honour shown to a person or thing is recorded about 1000.^[2] Reverence paid to a divine being is attested by late Old English in Etymonline, before 1325 in Barnhart;^[4][2] Word Origins and Hoad say it was not used in religious contexts until about 1200 or the 13th century.^[6][3] The old sense of honouring survives in the marriage service's “with my body I thee worship”, and Trench notes that Wycliffe could write that God would “worschipe” the man who served him.^[8] It also survives in your worship, a form of address for a magistrate or mayor,^[6][9] and in worshipful (before 1300).^[2][4] The verb is from about 1200, at first to pay divine honours,^[4][2] and by about 1300 to honour a parent or spouse with due esteem.^[4] Hero worship is from the early 18th century, first of the ancient cult of heroes such as Hercules.^[6]

Timeline

• before 900 – weorþscipe, honour, in Alfred.^[2]
• c. 1000 – respect shown.^[2]
• c. 1200 – the verb, to pay divine honours.^[4][2]
• before 1300 – worshipful.^[2]
• before 1325 – veneration of a divine being.^[2]
• early 18th century – hero worship.^[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The reverent love and devotion given to a deity, idol or sacred object.
2. The ceremonies and prayers that express this; a religious service.
3. Great or excessive admiration or devotion; adoration.
4. (chiefly Brit., Your Worship) A title for a magistrate or mayor.

Verb

1. To honour and love as divine; to take part in religious worship.
2. To admire or love devotedly, often excessively.

Word family

• worshiper
• worshipingly
• self-worship
• worshipful
• misworship
• preworship
• worshipless

Related words

• worth
• worthy
• -ship

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 Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d e f g Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Trench, Richard Chenevix (1859), A Select Glossary of English Words Used Formerly in Senses Different from Their Present, London: John W. Parker
9. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins