# worship

Pronunciation: say "WUR-ship" US /ˈwɝ.ʃɪp/, UK /ˈwɜː.ʃɪp/

## Noun

1. The reverent devotion that people offer to a god or to something they hold sacred.
   - Simple: Deep love and honor that people give to a god or to something holy.
   - _For many believers, worship is the heart of religious life._
   - _Carvings on the cliff suggest the sun once received worship there._
3. The religious ceremonies and services that express devotion to a deity.
   - Simple: The prayers, songs, and ceremonies that people use to honor a god.
   - _Sunday worship begins at ten with hymns and a short sermon._
   - _Worship at the temple includes chanting, incense, and offerings of fruit._
6. Ardent love; intense, devoted adoration of a person.
   - Simple: A very strong, deep love for a person or thing.
   - _His letters were full of worship for the woman he had met only once._
   - _Her eyes shone with worship whenever he walked into the room._
7. Voluntary, complete submission or utter deference to another.
   - Simple: Complete and willing obedience to someone, given by choice.
   - _The dictator demanded worship, not mere obedience, from his ministers._
   - _Her devotion to the guru shaded into worship, complete and unquestioning._
8. A person or thing that receives devotion or adoration.
   - Simple: A person or thing that people love and honor deeply.
   - _For years, the actress was the worship of half the country._
   - _The garden became the old man's worship after his wife died._
9. In Catholic theology, the adoration (latria) owed to God alone, distinguished from the high veneration (hyperdulia) given to Mary and the veneration (dulia) given to the other saints.
   - Simple: In the Catholic faith, the highest form of devotion, owed to God alone and not to Mary or the saints.
   - _Catholics offer worship to God alone, reserving veneration for the saints._
   - _The catechism distinguishes worship of God from the honor shown to Mary._
10. A respectful title or form of address for certain officials, especially magistrates and mayors, chiefly in Britain. *(British)*
   - Simple: A polite title for some officials in Britain, such as judges and mayors.
   - _'May it please Your Worship, my client wishes to apologize,' the barrister began._
   - _His Worship the Mayor of Leeds opened the new library on Saturday._
12. The practice of drawing influence from another artist's work so heavily that the borrowing seems obvious or unapologetic, or a piece of music that borrows in that way. *(slang)*
   - Simple: Music that copies another artist's sound so closely that everyone can hear it, or a song that does so.
   - _The record's second half slides into pure Sabbath worship, right down to the detuned riffs._
   - _Reviewers dismissed the single as shameless Prince worship._

## Verb

2. To revere a deity with supreme respect and veneration, or to honor one through religious observance.
   - Simple: To show deep love and honor to a god, often through prayer or ceremony.
   - _The ancient Greeks worshipped Zeus with festivals and sacrifices._
   - _Pilgrims travel for weeks to worship the deity enshrined at the temple._
4. To participate in religious ceremonies or acts of devotion.
   - Simple: To take part in a religious service or ceremony.
   - _Hundreds of families worship at the cathedral every Sunday._
   - _During the pilgrimage, travelers worship beside the river at sunrise._
5. To adore someone with excessive, uncritical devotion and complete submission, as a besotted lover does; to idolize.
   - Simple: To love someone so much that you treat them as perfect.
   - _Young players worship the team captain and hang on his every word._
   - _She worshipped her husband for thirty years, blind to every fault._
11. To touch, caress, or kiss someone in an intensely sensual way.
   - Simple: To touch or kiss someone's body in a slow, deeply loving way.
   - _His lips worshipped the curve of her neck._
   - _She pulled him close and let him worship her slowly._

## Noun

13. Honor, respect, or civil deference shown to a person. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: Honor and polite respect given to a person.
14. The condition of being worthy; honor or distinction earned through one's deeds. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: The state of being worthy, or the honor and fame a person earns.
   - _The young knight won great worship at the tournament._
   - _Through long and loyal service, he gained worship in the king's eyes._

## Origin

It comes from Middle English worschippe or worthschipe, which was inherited from Old English weorþsċiepe. It is related to Scots worschip.

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