reverentia

Forms

reverentia f (genitive reverentiae); first declension^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from reverēns (“respectful”), the present participle of revereor (“to revere”), with the suffix -ia.^[2][1][3] The verb is formed from re- and vereor (“to fear, respect”), which de Vaan derives from Proto-Italic *werē- (“to be wary”) and Proto-Indo-European *u(e)r-eh₁- (“to note, sense”), cognate with Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐍂𐍃 (wars, “careful”) and Old English wær (“wary”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler gives Cicero as its first author,^[3] who writes that “a certain respect must be shown towards men, both the best and the rest”.^[2]

Semantic evolution

It is a feeling of restraint before a superior, awe, deference or respect, as in Ovid's Heroides, and religious awe, as Tacitus' grove that no one enters unless bound.^[2][5] It is also a misgiving or shyness, as Ovid's “passion and modesty fight”.^[2] Lewis and Short find it rare before the post-Augustan writers.^[5]

Church Latin glosses it “reverence”.^[6] In medieval Latin reverentia vestra is a title of honour, and it also means superior ownership and a curtsy.^[7]

Timeline

• 81–43 BC – Cicero of respect towards men.^[2][3]
• 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid of deference and of shyness.^[2][3]
• 98–115 AD – Tacitus of religious awe.^[2][3]

Meanings

Noun

1. Respect, deference, awe; reverence.^[2][5][1][6]
2. Misgiving, shyness, modesty.^[2][1]
3. (Medieval Latin) reverentia vestra: your Reverence (a title); superior ownership; a curtsy.^[7]

Related words

• revereor
• vereor
• verēcundia
• venerātiō
• English reverence

Usage notes

Döderlein contrasts verērī, respect bordering on fear, with reverērī, fear arising from respect: verēcundia is the dread of exposing oneself before someone respected, while reverentia is the calm awareness of their worth.^[8]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
5. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
7. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
8. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper