Reverence

5 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Reverence \Rev"er*ence\, n. [F. r['e]v['e]rence, L. reverentia.
     See {Reverent}.]
     1. Profound respect and esteem mingled with fear and
        affection, as for a holy being or place; the disposition
        to revere; veneration.
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              If thou be poor, farewell thy reverence. --Chaucer.
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              Reverence, which is the synthesis of love and fear.
                                                    --Coleridge.
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              When discords, and quarrels, and factions, are
              carried openly and audaciously, it is a sign the
              reverence of government islost.       --Bacon.
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     Note: Formerly, as in Chaucer, reverence denoted "respect"
           "honor", without awe or fear.
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     2. The act of revering; a token of respect or veneration; an
        obeisance.
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              Make twenty reverences upon receiving . . . about
              twopence.                             --Goldsmith.
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              And each of them doeth all his diligence
              To do unto the feast reverence.       --Chaucer.
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     3. That which deserves or exacts manifestations of reverence;
        reverend character; dignity; state.
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              I am forced to lay my reverence by.   --Shak.
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     4. A person entitled to be revered; -- a title applied to
        priests or other ministers with the pronouns his or your;
        sometimes poetically to a father. --Shak.
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     {Save your reverence}, {Saving your reverence}, an
        apologetical phrase for an unseemly expression made in the
        presence of a priest or clergyman.
  
     {Sir reverence}, a contracted form of {Save your reverence}.
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              Such a one as a man may not speak of, without he
              say. "Sir reverence."                 --Shak.
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     {To do reverence}, to show reverence or honor; to perform an
        act of reverence.
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              Now lies he there,
              And none so poor to do him reverence. --Shak.
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     Syn: Awe; honor; veneration; adoration; dread.
  
     Usage: {Awe}, {Reverence}, {Dread}, {Veneration}. Reverence
            is a strong sentiment of respect and esteem, sometimes
            mingled slightly with fear; as, reverence for the
            divine law. Awe is a mixed feeling of sublimity and
            dread in view of something great or terrible, sublime
            or sacred; as, awe at the divine presence. It does not
            necessarily imply love. Dread is an anxious fear in
            view of an impending evil; as, dread of punishment.
            Veneration is reverence in its strongest
            manifestations. It is the highest emotion we can
            exercise toward human beings. Exalted and noble
            objects produce reverence; terrific and threatening
            objects awaken dread; a sense of the divine presence
            fills us with awe; a union of wisdom and virtue in one
            who is advanced in years inspires us with veneration.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Reverence \Rev"er*ence\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Reverenced}; p.
     pr. & vb. n. {Reverencing}.]
     To regard or treat with reverence; to regard with respect and
     affection mingled with fear; to venerate.
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           Let . . . the wife see that she reverence her husband.
                                                    --Eph. v. 33.
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           Those that I reverence those I fear, the wise. --Shak.
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From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  reverence
       n 1: a profound emotion inspired by a deity; "the fear of God"
            [syn: {fear}, {awe}, {veneration}]
       2: a reverent mental attitude [ant: {irreverence}]
       v : regard with feelings of respect and reverence; consider
           hallowed or exalted or be in awe of; "Fear God as your
           father"; "We venerate genius" [syn: {fear}, {revere}, {venerate}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  118 Moby Thesaurus words for "reverence":
     accord respect to, admiration, admire, adoration, adore, adulation,
     apotheosis, apotheosize, appreciate, appreciation, approbation,
     approval, awe, beatification, bend, bending the knee, bob, bow,
     bowing and scraping, breathless adoration, churchgoing, co-worship,
     conformity, consideration, courtesy, crouch, cult, cultism, cultus,
     curtsy, defer to, deference, deification, deify, devotedness,
     devotion, devoutness, dipping the colors, do homage to, do service,
     duck, dulia, dutifulness, duty, entertain respect for, esteem,
     estimation, exaggerated respect, exalt, faith, faithfulness, favor,
     fealty, fear, genuflection, glorification, great respect,
     hero worship, hero-worship, high regard, hold in esteem,
     hold in reverence, homage, honor, hyperdulia, idolatry,
     idolization, idolize, inclination, kneeling, kowtow, latria,
     look up to, love of God, loyalty, making a leg, nod, obeisance,
     obsequiousness, observance, pay homage to, pietism, piety,
     piousness, presenting arms, prestige, prize, prostration, regard,
     religion, religionism, religiousness, respect, revere,
     reverential regard, salaam, salutation, salute, sanctification,
     scrape, servility, squat, standing at attention, stoop, submission,
     submissiveness, supination, theism, think highly of, think much of,
     think well of, transcendent wonder, value, venerate, veneration,
     worship, worshipfulness, worshiping
  
  

From THE DEVIL'S DICTIONARY ((C)1911 Released April 15 1993) [devils]:

  REVERENCE, n.  The spiritual attitude of a man to a god and a dog to a
  man.