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Origin and history of veneration

veneration(n.)

early 15c., veneracioun, "solemn respect and reverence, religious worship," from Old French veneracion, from Latin venerationem (nominative veneratio) "reverence, profoundest respect," noun of action from past participle stem of venerari "to worship, revere," from venus (genitive veneris) "beauty, love, desire" (from PIE root *wen- (1) "to desire, strive for").

In general use, "high degree of respect and reverence; outward expression of reverent feeling" by 1640s.

also from early 15c.

Entries linking to veneration

venerate(v.)

"regard with respect and reverence," 1620s, back-formation from veneration, or else from Latin veneratus, past participle of venerari "to reverence, worship," from venus (genitive veneris) "beauty, love, desire" (from PIE root *wen- (1) "to desire, strive for"). Related: Venerated; venerator; venerating.

*wen-(1)

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to desire, strive for."

It might form all or part of: vanadium; Vanir; venerate; veneration; venerable; venereal; venery (n.1) "pursuit of sexual pleasure;" venery (n.2) "hunting, the sports of the chase;" venial; venison; venom; Venus; wean; ween; Wend "Slavic people of eastern Germany;" win; winsome; wish; wont; wynn.

It might also be the source of: Sanskrit veti "follows after," vanas- "desire," vanati "desires, loves, wins;" Avestan vanaiti "he wishes, is victorious;" Latin venerari "to worship," venus "love, sexual desire; loveliness, beauty;" Old English wynn "joy," wunian "to dwell," wenian "to accustom, train, wean," wyscan "to wish."

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    devotion
    c. 1200, devocioun, "profound religious emotion, awe, reverence," from Old French devocion "devotion, piety" and directly from Latin devotionem (nominative devotio), noun of action from past-participle stem of devovere "dedicate by a vow, sacrifice oneself, promise solemnly," fro
    fear
    Middle English fere, from Old English fær "calamity, sudden danger, peril, sudden attack," from Proto-Germanic *feraz "danger" (source also of Old Saxon far "ambush," Old Norse far "harm, distress, deception," Dutch gevaar, German Gefahr "danger"), from PIE *pēr-, a lengthened fo
    reverence
    late 13c., "honor, respect, deference (shown to someone), esteem heightened by awe," also of places or holy objects, from Old French reverence "respect, awe" and directly from Latin reverentia "awe, respect," from revereri "to stand in awe of, respect, honor, fear, be afraid of;
    awe
    The current sense of "dread mixed with admiration or veneration" is due to biblical use with reference to the Supreme Being...
    sacred
    Sacred cow as an object of Hindu veneration is by 1793; its figurative sense of "one who or that which must not be criticized...Sacred Heart "the heart of Jesus as an object of religious veneration" is by 1823, short for Sacred Heart of Jesus or Mary...
    horror
    thing which excites horror," from Old French horror (12c., Modern French horreur) and directly from Latin horror "dread, veneration...
    look
    To look up to "regard with respect and veneration" is from 1719....
    emotion
    1570s, "a (social) moving, stirring, agitation," from French émotion (16c.), from Old French emouvoir "stir up" (12c.), from Latin emovere "move out, remove, agitate," from assimilated form of ex "out" (see ex-) + movere "to move" (from PIE root *meue- "to push away"). The sense
    fare
    Old English fær "journey, road, passage, expedition," from strong neuter of faran "to journey" (see fare (v.)); merged with faru "journey, expedition, companions, baggage," strong fem. of faran. Original sense is obsolete, except in compounds (wayfarer, sea-faring, etc.) Meaning
    dilatory
    mid-15c., dilatorie, "marked by or given to procrastination or delay, not prompt," from Old French dilatorie and directly from Late Latin dilatorius, from dilator "procrastinator," from dilatus, serving as past participle of differe "to delay, put off, postpone," from assimilated

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