Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “reverend” come from?

Reverend comes from Middle French révérend, derived from Latin reverendus (worthy of reverence), from Latin revereor (to revere), formed with the prefix Latin re- and a root traced to Proto-Italic wre and ultimately Proto-Indo-European wer-.

reverend (English): worthy of reverence or respect; reverent; A...

Definitions

  1. worthy of reverence or respect; reverent; A...

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”

  • Reverend
  • rev
  • irreverend
  • unreverend
  • reverendly
  • revver
  • overrev
  • Revd.
  • revvy
  • revhead
  • reverendness
  • revvable
  • reveren
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós →