Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “Reverend” come from?

Reverend comes from Middle French révérend, from Latin reverendus, the gerundive of revereor meaning "to revere or respect," derived from the prefix re- and the Proto-Italic root wre-, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European wer-.

Reverend (English): A title indicating respect, prefixed to the names...

Definitions

  1. A title indicating respect, prefixed to the names...

Ancestry of “Reverend”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Frenchrévérend—
2LatinreverendusThat is to be respected
3LatinrevereorI stand in awe , regard, respect, honor,...
4Latinrĕ-—
5Latinprōdūcō—
6Latinprō-—
7Proto-Italic*pro-—
8Proto-Indo-Europeanpro-toward, forward
9Proto-Indo-Europeanpor-to give birth; forward, through; going, passage
10Proto-Indo-Europeanper-before, in front; first; to go through
11Proto-Indo-Europeanpr̥tóspassed , crossed

Words derived from “Reverend”

  • Revd.
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós →