Etymologically
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worship

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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

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