Online Etymology Dictionary

worship (n.): O.E. worðscip, wurðscip (Anglian), weorðscipe (W.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). The verb is recorded from c.1200.
cult: 1617, "worship," also "a particular form of worship," from Fr. culte, from L. cultus "care, cultivation, worship," originally "tended, cultivated," pp. of colere "to till" (see colony). Rare after 17c.; revived mid-19c. with reference to ancient or primitive rituals. Meaning "devotion to a person or thing" is from 1829.
anthropolatry: "worship of a human being," from Gk. anthropos (see anthropo-) + latreia "hired labor, service, worship."
-latry: suffix meaning "worship of," in use in native formations from 19c. (e.g. bardolatry), from Gk. -latreia "worship, service paid to the gods, hired labor," related to latron "pay, hire," latris "servant, worshipper."
idolatry: c.1250, from O.Fr. idolatrie, shortened from L.L. idololatria (Tertullian), from Gk. eidololatria "worship of idols," from eidolon "image" + latreia "worship, service."
adore: c.1300, "to pay divine honors to," from O.Fr. aourer "to adore, worship" (10c.), from L. adorare "speak to formally, beseech, ask in prayer," in L.L. "to worship," from ad- "to" + orare "speak formally, pray" (see orator). Meaning "to honor very highly" is attested from 1590s; weakened sense of "to be very fond of" emerged by 1880s.
temple (1): "building for worship," O.E. tempel, from L. templum "piece of ground consecrated for the taking of auspices, building for worship," of uncertain signification. Commonly referred either to PIE base *tem- "to cut," on notion of "place reserved or cut out," or to PIE base *temp- "to stretch," on notion of cleared space in front of an altar. Fig. sense of "any place regarded as occupied by divine presence" was in O.E. Applied to Jewish synagogues from 1598.
Methodist: "One of a new kind of puritans lately arisen, so called from their profession to live by rules and in constant method" [Johnson]. Protestant religious sect founded 1729 at Oxford University by John and Charles Wesley, took that name almost from inception, but it had been used since at least 1686 for various new methods of worship.
venerable: 1432, from L. venerabilis, from venerari "to worship, revere" (see veneration). As a title, used in ref. to ecclesiastics or those who had obtained the first degree of canonization.
Cyprus: from Gk. Kypros "land of cypress trees" (see cypress); eastern Mediterranean island famous in ancient times as the birthplace of Aphrodite and for erotic worship rituals offered to her there; hence Cyprian (adj.) "licentious, lewd" (1599); applied 18c.-19c. to prostitutes.
altar: O.E., from L. altare (pl. altaria), probably originally meaning "burnt offerings" (cf. L. adolere "to worship, to offer sacrifice, to honor by burning sacrifices to"), but infl. by L. altus "high."
adorable: 1611, from Fr. adorable, from L. adorabilem "worthy of worship," from adorare (see adore). Weakened sense of "delightful, charming" is recorded from 1710.
ophidian: "pertaining to snakes," 1883, from Gk. ophidion, dim. of ophis "serpent," of unknown origin. Hence, ophiolatry "serpent-worship" (1862), and the 2c. sect of the Ophitæ, who revered the serpent as the symbol of divine wisdom. Also ophiomancy (1683), the ancient art of divination by the movements of snakes.
Azerbaijan: country name, of unknown origin, perhaps from O.Pers. Aturpatakan, from Gk. Atropatene, from the Pers. Atropates, who ruled there in the time of Alexander the Great; or from local azer "fire" + baydjan (Iranian baykan) "guardian," in ref. to fire-worship.
tabernacle: c.1250, "portable sanctuary carried by the Israelites in the wilderness," from O.Fr. tabernacle (12c.), from L. tabernaculum "tent," especially "a tent of an augur" (for taking observations), dim. of taberna "hut, cabin, booth" (see tavern). Transfered 1388 to the Temple in Jerusalem (which continued its function). Sense of "house of worship" first recorded 1693. The Jewish Feast of Tabernacles (mid-October) was observed as a thanksgiving for harvest.
Leviticus: third book of the Pentateuch, c.1400, from L.L. Leviticus (liber), lit. "book of the Levites," from Gk. to Leuitikon biblion, properly the part of the Pentateuch dealing with the function of the priests who were of the tribe of Levi (a portion of the tribe acted as assistants to the priests in the temple-worship). The Heb. title is Torath Kohanim, lit. "the law of the priests."
mosque: c.1400, moseak, probably from M.Fr. mosquée, from It. moschea, from Sp. mesquita (modern mezquita), from Arabic masjid "temple, place of worship," from sajada "he worshipped" + prefix ma- denoting "place." In M.E. as muskey, moseache, etc.
meet (v.): O.E. metan, from P.Gmc. *motijanan (cf.O.N. mæta, O.S. motian "to meet"). Related to O.E. gemot "meeting." The noun, in the sporting sense, is attested from 1831, originally of hunting. Meeting "gathering of people for discussion, etc." is attested from 1513. In 17c., it was applied generally to worship assemblies of nonconformists, but this now is retained mostly by Quakers.
toleration: 1517, "permission granted by authority, license," from M.Fr. tolération (15c.), from L. tolerationem (nom. toleratio) "a bearing, supporting, enduring," from toleratus, pp. of tolerare "to tolerate, lit. "to bear" (see extol). Meaning "forbearance, sufferance" is from 1582. Religious sense is from Act of Toleration, statute granting freedom of religious worship (with conditions) to dissenting Protestants in England, 1689.
idol: c.1250, "image of a deity as an object of (pagan) worship," from O.Fr. idole, from L.L. idolum "image (mental or physical), form," used in Church L. for "false god," from Gk. eidolon "appearance," later "mental image, apparition, phantom," also "material image, statue," from eidos "form" (see -oid). Figurative sense of "something idolized" is first recorded 1562. Meaning "a person so adored" is from 1591; hence idolize (1598).
voodoo: religious witchcraft of Haiti and Southern U.S., ult. of African origin, 1850, from Louisiana Fr. voudou, from a W.African language (e.g. Ewe and Fon vodu "spirit, demon, deity," also Vandoo, supposedly the name of an African deity, from a language of Dahomey). Cf. vodun "fetish connected with snake worship in Dahomey," said to be from vo "to be afraid," or vo "harmful." The verb is attested from 1880.
orator: late 14c., "one who pleads or argues for a cause," from Anglo-Fr. oratour, from O.Fr. orateur (14c.), from L. oratorem (nom. orator) "speaker," from orare "speak before a court or assembly, plead," from PIE base *or- "to pronounce a ritual formula" (cf. Skt. aryanti "they praise," Homeric Gk. are, Attic ara "prayer," Hittite ariya- "to ask the oracle," aruwai- "to revere, worship"). Meaning "public speaker" is attested from early 15c.
Zion: O.E. Sion, from Gk. Seon, from Heb. Tsiyon, name of a Canaanite hill fortress in Jerusalem captured by David and called in the Bible "City of David." It became the center of Jewish life and worship. Zionism "movement for forming (later supporting) a Jewish national state in Palestine" first attested 1896, from Ger. Zionismus (from Zion + L.-derived suffix -ismus), first recorded 1886 in "Selbstemancipation," by "Matthias Acher" (pseudonym of Nathan Birnbaum).
template: 1677, templet "horizontal piece under a girder or beam," probably from Fr. templet "weaver's stretcher," dim. of temple, which meant the same thing, from L. templum "plank, rafter," also "building for worship" (see temple (1)). The meaning "pattern or gauge for shaping a piece of work" is first recorded 1819 in this form, earlier temple (1688); the form was altered 1844, probably influenced by plate, but the pronunciation did not begin to shift until much more recently.
orgy: 1561, orgies (pl.) "secret rites in the worship of certain Gk. and Roman gods," especially Dionysus, from M.Fr. orgies (c.1500), from L. orgia, from Gk. orgia (pl.) "secret rites," from PIE base *werg- "to work" (see urge (v.)). The singular, orgy, was first used in Eng. 1665 for the extended sense of "any licentious revelry." OED says of the ancient rites that they were "celebrated with extravagant dancing, singing, drinking, etc.," which gives "etc." quite a workout.
veneration: c.1410, from M.Fr. veneration, from L. venerationem (nom. veneratio) "reverence," from venerari "to worship, revere," from venus (gen. veneris) "beauty, love, desire" (see Venus). Venerate (v.) is first recorded 1623, from L. veneratus, pp. of venerari.
liturgy: 1560, "the service of the Holy Eucharist," from M.Fr. liturgie, from L.L. liturgia "public service, public worship," from Gk. leitourgia, from leitourgos "one who performs a public ceremony or service, public servant," from leito- "public" (from laos "people;" cf. leiton "public hall," leite "priestess") + -ergos "that works," from ergon "work" (see urge (v.)). Meaning "collective formulas for the conduct of divine service in Christian churches" is from c.1593.
logos: 1587, "second person of the Christian Trinity," from Gk. logos "word, speech, discourse," also "reason," from PIE base *leg- "to collect" (with derivatives meaning "to speak," on notion of "to pick out words;" see lecture); used by Neo-Platonists in various metaphysical and theological senses and picked up by N.T. writers. Other Eng. formations from logos include logolatry "worship of words, unreasonable regard for words or verbal truth" (1810 in Coleridge); logomachy "fighting about words" (1569); logomania (1870); logophobia (1923); and logorrhea (1902).
bless: O.E. bletsian, bledsian, Northumbrian bloedsian "to consecrate, make holy," from P.Gmc. *blothisojan "mark with blood," from *blotham "blood" (see blood). Originally a blood sprinkling on pagan altars. This word was chosen in O.E. bibles to translate L. benedicere and Gk. eulogein, both of which have a ground sense of "to speak well of, to praise," but were used in Scripture to translate Heb. brk "to bend (the knee), worship, praise, invoke blessings." Meaning shifted in late O.E. toward "to confer happiness, well-being," by resemblance to unrelated bliss. No cognates in other languages.
service (n.): c.1100, "celebration of public worship," from O.Fr. servise, from L. servitium "slavery, servitude," from servus "slave" (see serve). Meaning "act of serving" is attested from 1230. Sense of "duty of a military man" first recorded 1580s, hence "the military as an occupation" (1706). Meaning "the furniture of the table" (tea service, etc.) is from mid-15c. Serving "a helping of food" is from 1769. Serviceable "ready to serve" is from early 14c.
Edgar: I know thee well: a serviceable villain,
As duteous to the vices of thy mistress
As badness would desire.
"King Lear," Act IV, Scene vi
wish (v.): O.E. wyscan "to wish," from P.Gmc. *wunskijanan (cf. O.N. æskja, Dan. ønske, Swed. önska, M.Du. wonscen, Du. wensen, O.H.G. wunsken, Ger. wunschen "to wish"), from PIE *wun-/*wen-/*won- "to strive after, wish, desire, be satisfied" (cf. Skt. vanati "he desires, loves, wins," L. venus "love, sexual desire, loveliness," venerari "to worship;" see Venus). The noun is attested from c.1300. Wishful first recorded 1523. Wishful thinking is recorded from 1932; wish fulfillment (1901) translates Ger. wunscherfüllung (Freud, "Die Traumdeutung," 1900).
bard: mid-15c., from Scottish, from O.Celt. bardos "poet, singer," from PIE base *gwer- "to lift up the voice, praise." In historical times, a term of contempt among the Scots (who considered them itinerant troublemakers), but one of great respect among the Welsh.
"All vagabundis, fulis, bardis, scudlaris, and siclike idill pepill, sall be brint on the cheek." [local Scottish ordinance, c.1500]
Subsequently idealized by Scott in the more ancient sense of "lyric poet, singer." Poetic use of the word in English is from Gk. bardos, L. bardus, both from Gaulish. Bardolatry "worship of Shakespeare (the 'Bard of Avon')" first recorded 1901.
church: O.E. cirice "church," from W.Gmc. *kirika, from Gk. kyriake (oikia) "Lord's (house)," from kyrios "ruler, lord." For vowel evolution, see bury. Gk. kyriakon (adj.) "of the Lord" was used of houses of Christian worship since c.300, especially in the East, though it was less common in this sense than ekklesia or basilike. An example of the direct Gk.-to-Gmc. progress of many Christian words, via the Goths; it was probably used by W.Gmc. people in their pre-Christian period. Also picked up by Slavic, via Gmc. (cf. O.Slav. criky, Rus. cerkov). Romance and Celtic languages use variants of L. ecclesia. Slang church key for "can or bottle opener" is from 1950s. Church-mouse, proverbial in many languages for its poverty, is 1731 in Eng.
offer (v.): O.E. ofrian, from L. offerre "to present, bestow, bring before" (in L.L. "to present in worship"), from ob "to" + ferre "to bring, to carry" (see infer). Non-religious sense reinforced by O.Fr. offrir "to offer," from L. offerre. The noun is first recorded 1433, from O.Fr. offre (12c.), verbal noun from offrir. The native noun formation is offering (O.E. offrung), verbal noun from offrian.
nude: 1531, a legal term, "unsupported, not formally attested," from L. nudus "naked, bare" (see naked). General sense of "mere, plain, simple" attested from 1551. In ref. to the human body, meaning "unclothed" is an artistic euphemism for naked, dating from 1611 (implied in nudity). Nudism is a 1929 borrowing from Fr. nudisme; nudist "one who practices nudism" appeared at the same time.
"Made in Germany, imported to France, is the cult of Nudism, a mulligan stew of vegetarianism, physical culture and pagan worship." ["Time," July 1, 1929]
Nudie "a nude show" is from 1935.
sanctuary: c.1340, "building set apart for holy worship," from Anglo-Fr. sentuarie, from O.Fr. sainctuarie, from L.L. sanctuarium "a sacred place, shrine" (especially the Hebrew Holy of Holies; see sanctum), also "a private room," from L. sanctus "holy" (see saint). By medieval Church law, fugitives or debtors enjoyed immunity from arrest in churches, hence transf. sense of "immunity from punishment" (c.1380). General (non-ecclesiastical) sense of "place of refuge or protection" is attested from 1568; as "land set aside for wild plants or animals to breed and live" it is recorded from 1879. Under English law, one claiming the right of sanctuary had 40 days to confess and accept permanent banishment. This was abolished in Britain 1625 in criminal cases, 1696, 1722 in civil cases.
hero: 1387, "man of superhuman strength or courage," from L. heros "hero," from Gk. heros "demi-god" (a variant singular of which was heroe), originally "defender, protector," from PIE base *ser- "to watch over, protect" (cf. L. servare "to save, deliver, preserve, protect"). Sense of "chief male character in a play, story, etc." first recorded 1697. Fem. form heroine first attested 1659, from L. heroina, from Gk. heroine. First record of hero-worship is from 1774. Heroic verse (1617), decasyllabic iambic, is from It. Hero, the New York term for a sandwich elsewhere called submarine, grinder, poor boy (New Orleans), or hoagie (Philadelphia), is 1955, origin unknown, perhaps folk etymology of Gk. gyro, a type of sandwich.
Satan: proper name of the supreme evil spirit in Christianity, O.E. Satan, from L.L. Satan (in Vulgate, in O.T. only), from Gk. Satanas, from Heb. satan "adversary, one who plots against another," from satan "to show enmity to, oppose, plot against," from root s-t-n "one who opposes, obstructs, or acts as an adversary." In Septuagint (Gk.) usually translated as diabolos "slanderer," lit. "one who throws (something) across" the path of another (see devil), though epiboulos "plotter" is used once.
"In biblical sources the Hebrew term the satan describes an adversarial role. It is not the name of a particular character. Although Hebrew storytellers as early as the sixth century B.C.E. occasionally introduced a supernatural character whom they called the satan, what they meant was any one of the angels sent by God for the specific purpose of blocking or obstructing human activity." [Elaine Pagels, "The Origin of Satan," 1995]
Satanic "pertaining to Satan" is first recorded 1667 (in "Paradise Lost"); meaning "diabolical" is from 1793. Satanism "worship of Satan" dates from 1896, with ref. to France, where it was said to be active at that time; Satanist is attested from 1559, applied by their enemies to Protestant sects.
guild: c.1230, yilde (spelling later infl. by O.N. gildi), a semantic fusion of O.E. gegyld "guild" and gild, gyld "payment, tribute, compensation," from P.Gmc. *gelth- "pay" (cf. O.Fris. geld "money," O.S. geld "payment, sacrifice, reward," O.H.G. gelt "payment, tribute"). The connecting sense is of a tribute or payment to join a protective or trade society. But some see the root in its alternative sense of "sacrifice," as if in worship, and see the word as meaning a combination for religious purposes, either Christian or pagan. The Anglo-Saxon guilds had a strong religious component; they were burial societies that paid for masses for the souls of deceased members as well as paying fines in cases of justified crime. The continental custom of guilds of merchants arrived after the Conquest, with incorporated societies of merchants in each town or city holding exclusive rights of doing business there. In many cases they became the governing body of a town (cf. Guildhall, which came to be the London city hall). Trade guilds arose 14c., as craftsmen united to protect their common interest.
religion: c.1200, "state of life bound by monastic vows," also "conduct indicating a belief in a divine power," from Anglo-Fr. religiun (11c.), from O.Fr. religion "religious community," from L. religionem (nom. religio) "respect for what is sacred, reverence for the gods," in L.L. "monastic life" (5c.); according to Cicero, derived from relegare "go through again, read again," from re- "again" + legere "read" (see lecture). However, popular etymology among the later ancients (and many modern writers) connects it with religare "to bind fast" (see rely), via notion of "place an obligation on," or "bond between humans and gods." Another possible origin is religiens "careful," opposite of negligens. Meaning "particular system of faith" is recorded from c.1300.
"To hold, therefore, that there is no difference in matters of religion between forms that are unlike each other, and even contrary to each other, most clearly leads in the end to the rejection of all religion in both theory and practice. And this is the same thing as atheism, however it may differ from it in name." [Pope Leo XIII, Immortale Dei, 1885]
Modern sense of "recognition of, obedience to, and worship of a higher, unseen power" is from 1530s. Religious is first recorded early 13c. Transfered sense of "scrupulous, exact" is recorded from 1590s.