respect

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English noun from Old French or directly from Latin respectus “action of looking back, consideration, regard,” equivalent to respec-, variant stem of respicere “to look back” (re- “back” + specere “to look”) + -tus suffix of verbal action; verb from Latin respectus, past participle of respicere; see re-

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.

In Middle English, the more common meanings of the noun respect ( respect, respecte ) are “relation, relationship, regard, consideration” (still current meanings), present in Old French respect and Latin respectus, literally, “the act of looking back.”
The meaning “esteem for a person, thing, or quality” first appeared in 1526; the corresponding verb meaning “to hold in esteem” is first recorded in 1583. The prepositional phrase with respect to “referring to; concerning” dates to the mid-16th century. The plural noun respects “a formal expression or gesture of greeting, esteem, or friendship” dates to the first half of the 17th century; the phrase to pay one’s respects “to make a visit in order to welcome, greet, etc., or to express one's sympathy, especially after a death” dates to the middle of the 17th century.