# praise

Pronunciation: say "PRAYZ" /pɹeɪz/

## Noun

1. Words that express approval of or admiration for someone or something.
   - Simple: Kind words that say someone or something is good.
   - _The novel earned widespread praise from critics across the country._
   - _His quiet generosity won praise from everyone who knew him._
3. The expression of worship, glorification, and adoration directed toward a deity.
   - Simple: Words and songs that honor God or a god.
   - _The congregation lifted their voices in praise as the choir began._
   - _They gathered each Sunday morning to offer praise to God._

## Verb

2. To express approval of or admiration for someone or something; to commend, glorify, or worship.
   - Simple: To say good things about someone or something you admire.
   - _Critics praise the director for her bold visual choices._
   - _The mayor praised the volunteers who rebuilt the flooded homes._

## Origin

**Meanings 1, 3** — This noun comes from Middle English praise, preyse, formed from the verb. It is a doublet of 'prize', and it replaced the native Middle English word lof (from Old English lof, “praise”).
**Meaning 2** — From Middle English praisen, preisen, from Old French proisier, preisier (“to value, prize”), from Late Latin pretio (“to value, prize”), from pretium (“price, worth, reward”). It displaced the native Middle English herien (from Old English herian, “to praise”).

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/praise (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).