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worship

[wur-ship]
noun
  1. reverent honor and homage paid to God or a sacred personage, or to any object regarded as sacred.
  2. formal or ceremonious rendering of such honor and homage: They attended worship this morning.
  3. adoring reverence or regard: excessive worship of business success.
  4. the object of adoring reverence or regard.
  5. (initial capital letter) British. a title of honor used in addressing or mentioning certain magistrates and others of high rank or station (usually preceded by Your, His, or Her).
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verb (used with object), wor·shiped, wor·ship·ing or (especially British) wor·shipped, wor·ship·ping.
  1. to render religious reverence and homage to.
  2. to feel an adoring reverence or regard for (any person or thing).
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verb (used without object), wor·shiped, wor·ship·ing or (especially British) wor·shipped, wor·ship·ping.
  1. to render religious reverence and homage, as to a deity.
  2. to attend services of divine worship.
  3. to feel an adoring reverence or regard.
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Origin of worship

before 900; (noun) Middle English wors(c)hipe, worthssipe, Old English worthscipe, variant of weorthscipe; see worth1, -ship; (v.) Middle English, derivative of the noun
Related formswor·ship·er, nounwor·ship·ing·ly, adverbmis·wor·ship, verb, mis·wor·shiped, mis·wor·ship·ing or (especially British) mis·wor·shipped, mis·wor·ship·ping.pre·wor·ship, noun, verb, pre·wor·shiped, pre·wor·ship·ing or (especially British) pre·wor·shipped, pre·wor·ship·ping.self-wor·ship, nounself-wor·ship·er, nounself-wor·ship·ing, adjectiveself-wor·ship·ping, adjectiveun·wor·shiped, adjectiveun·wor·ship·ing, adjectiveun·wor·shipped, adjectiveun·wor·ship·ping, adjective

Synonyms

3. honor, homage, adoration, idolatry. 7. honor, venerate, revere, adore, glorify, idolize, adulate.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

adorationritualprayerritedevotioncanonizeidolizeadmirevenerateadorechantsingreverecelebrateloveadulationgenuflectionrespectidolatryprostration

Examples from the Web for worshiping

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • He was worshiping not the animal-headed idols, but the attributes which they personified.

  • And yet if he could be "turned to a coal," why should she go on worshiping him?

  • It may be observed that he here confounded washing with worshiping.

    The Gypsies

    Charles G. Leland

  • Just as John was coming home to her, and she worshiping him so, and he her!

    At Pinney's Ranch

    Edward Bellamy

  • This is the idol we are worshiping instead of the true and only God.

    The Right Knock

    Helen Van-Anderson

British Dictionary definitions for worshiping

worship

verb -ships, -shipping or -shipped or US -ships, -shiping or -shiped
  1. (tr) to show profound religious devotion and respect to; adore or venerate (God or any person or thing considered divine)
  2. (tr) to be devoted to and full of admiration for
  3. (intr) to have or express feelings of profound adoration
  4. (intr) to attend services for worship
  5. (tr) obsolete to honour
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noun
  1. religious adoration or devotion
  2. the formal expression of religious adoration; rites, prayers, etc
  3. admiring love or devotion
  4. archaic dignity or standing
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Derived Formsworshipable, adjectiveworshipper, noun

Word Origin

Old English weorthscipe, from worth 1 + -ship

Worship

noun
  1. mainly British (preceded by Your, His, or Her) a title used to address or refer to a mayor, magistrate, or a person of similar high rank
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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 worshiping

worship

n.

Old English worðscip, wurðscip (Anglian), weorðscipe (West Saxon) "condition of being worthy, honor, renown," from weorð "worthy" (see worth) + -scipe (see -ship). Sense of "reverence paid to a supernatural or divine being" is first recorded c.1300. The original sense is preserved in the title worshipful (c.1300).

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worship

v.

c.1200, from worship (n.). Related: Worshipped; worshipping.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper