ancestor worship


nounAnthropology.
  1. (in certain societies) the veneration of ancestors whose spirits are frequently held to possess the power to influence the affairs of the living.

Origin of ancestor worship

1
First recorded in 1850–55

Words Nearby ancestor worship

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use ancestor worship in a sentence

  • In China the patriarch of a nomad horde became emperor of a nation retaining ancestor worship as its chief religious system.

    Man And His Ancestor | Charles Morris
  • Sometimes, as in many African tribes, ancestor worship is almost the whole of practical cult.

    Homer and His Age | Andrew Lang
  • Religion is mainly ancestor worship or vague spirit worship; ghosts are propitiated with food.

  • Among a people still practicing ancestor-worship, an epidemic of sterility would be a disaster indeed.

    Operation R.S.V.P. | Henry Beam Piper
  • ancestor worship, finally, is the worship in cult of family or tribal ancestors.