Deep, awed respect interwoven with love and devotion, directed toward a person or thing regarded as sacred or of great worth..
Deep, awed respect interwoven with love and devotion, directed toward a person or thing regarded as sacred or of great worth.
Respect lifted by awe and softened by love — it assumes real merit in the one honored, and frequently stirs devotion, homage, or a yielding spirit. The Century Dictionary's contrast: reverence differs from awe in not being akin to fear and in implying affection (“we feel reverence for a parent… we stand in awe of a tyrant”). Stronger and warmer than plain respect (the cooler genus); less personal and attachment-driven than adoration; near veneration but slightly less in pitch.
Late 13c., from Latin reverentia “awe, respect,” from revereri “to stand in awe of, respect,” from re- (intensive) + vereri “to stand in awe of, fear” (PIE *wer- “perceive, watch out for”).
Stable since the late 13c. (“esteem heightened by awe”). As a respectful address for clergy (“Your Reverence”) it is attested from the late 14c. No major shift.