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definitions

respect

[ri-spekt]
noun
  1. a particular, detail, or point (usually preceded by in): to differ in some respect.
  2. relation or reference: inquiries with respect to a route.
  3. esteem for or a sense of the worth or excellence of a person, a personal quality or ability, or something considered as a manifestation of a personal quality or ability: I have great respect for her judgment.
  4. deference to a right, privilege, privileged position, or someone or something considered to have certain rights or privileges; proper acceptance or courtesy; acknowledgment: respect for a suspect's right to counsel; to show respect for the flag; respect for the elderly.
  5. the condition of being esteemed or honored: to be held in respect.
  6. respects, a formal expression or gesture of greeting, esteem, or friendship: Give my respects to your parents.
  7. favor or partiality.
  8. Archaic. a consideration.
verb (used with object)
  1. to hold in esteem or honor: I cannot respect a cheat.
  2. to show regard or consideration for: to respect someone's rights.
  3. to refrain from intruding upon or interfering with: to respect a person's privacy.
  4. to relate or have reference to.
Idioms
  1. in respect of, in reference to; in regard to; concerning.
  2. in respect that, Archaic. because of; since.
  3. pay one's respects,
    1. to visit in order to welcome, greet, etc.: We paid our respects to the new neighbors.
    2. to express one's sympathy, especially to survivors following a death: We paid our respects to the family.
  4. with respect to, referring to; concerning: with respect to your latest request.

Origin of respect

1300–50; (noun) Middle English (< Old French) < Latin respectus action of looking back, consideration, regard, equivalent to respec-, variant stem of respicere to look back (re- re- + specere to look) + -tus suffix of v. action; (v.) < Latin respectus past participle of respicere
Related formsqua·si-re·spect·ed, adjectiveun·der·re·spect·ed, adjectiveun·re·spect·ed, adjectivewell-re·spect·ed, adjective

Synonyms for respect

1. regard, feature, matter. 2. regard, connection. 3. estimation, reverence, homage, honor. 7. bias, preference. 9. revere, venerate, consider, admire. 10. heed.

Synonym study

3. Respect, esteem, veneration imply recognition of personal qualities by approbation, deference, and more or less affection. Respect is commonly the result of admiration and approbation, together with deference: to feel respect for a great scholar. Esteem is deference combined with admiration and often with affection: to hold a friend in great esteem. Veneration is an almost religious attitude of deep respect, reverence, and love, such as we feel for persons or things of outstanding superiority, endeared by long association: veneration for one's grandparents, for noble traditions.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for pay one's respects

respect

noun
  1. an attitude of deference, admiration, or esteem; regard
  2. the state of being honoured or esteemed
  3. a detail, point, or characteristic; particularhe differs in some respects from his son
  4. reference or relation (esp in the phrases in respect of, with respect to)
  5. polite or kind regard; considerationrespect for people's feelings
  6. (often plural) an expression of esteem or regard (esp in the phrase pay one's respects)
verb (tr)
  1. to have an attitude of esteem towards; show or have respect forto respect one's elders
  2. to pay proper attention to; not violateto respect Swiss neutrality
  3. to show consideration for; treat courteously or kindly
  4. archaic to concern or refer to

Word Origin for respect

C14: from Latin rēspicere to look back, pay attention to, from re- + specere to look
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for pay one's respects

respect

n.

late 14c., "relationship, relation; regard, consideration," from Old French respect and directly from Latin respectus "regard, a looking at," literally "act of looking back (or often) at one," noun use of past participle of respicere "look back at, regard, consider," from re- "back" (see re-) + specere "look at" (see scope (n.1)). Meanings "feeling of esteem excited by actions or attributes of someone or something; courteous or considerate treatment due to personal worth or power" are from 1580s, as is sense of "point, particular feature."

respect

v.

1540s, "to regard," from Middle French respecter "look back; respect; delay," from Latin respectere, frequentative of respicere (see respect (n.). Meaning "treat with deferential regard or esteem" is from 1550s. Sense of "refrain from injuring" is from 1620s. Meaning "have reference to" is from 1560s. Related: Respected; respecting.

To respect the person was "show undue bias toward (or against) based on regard for the outward circumstances of a person;" hence respecter of persons, usually with negative, from Acts x:34, in the 1611 translation.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with pay one's respects

pay one's respects

see pay a call.

respect

see in regard (respect) to; pay a call (one's respects); with all due respect.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.