I. ˈwərshə̇p, ˈwə̄sh-, ˈwəish- noun
Etymology: Middle English worschipe, worshipe, from Old English weorthscipe, from weorth worthy + -scipe -ship — more at worth
1.
a. archaic : honor , repute , credit
b. archaic : dignity , importance , rank
c. sometimes capitalized , chiefly Britain : a person of standing or importance — used as a title or mode of address especially for holders of various high offices
his Worship the Sheriff — Max Peacock
2. : the reverence or veneration tendered a divine being or supernatural power ; also : an act, process, or instance of expressing such veneration by performing or taking part in religious exercises or ritual
all worship is an effort of the individual to realize … the real presence of the Divine — W.W.Comfort
3. : a form or type of worship or religious practice with its creed and ritual
foreigners had been thronging to Rome, bringing with them their foreign cults, and she had permitted these worships — John Buchan
members of the Handsome Lake worship may greet each as brother and sister — F.W.Voget
4. : respect, admiration, or devotion for an object of esteem
it cannot be called love that a lad of twelve … felt for an exalted lady, his mistress: but it was worship — W.M.Thackeray
the worship of the movie hero — J.M.Barzun
the worship of the machine — C.I.Glicksberg
the materialism of America, its new sense of power, its old worship of success — Irwin Edman
II. verb
( worshiped or worshipped ; worshiped or worshipped ; worshiping or worshipping ; worships )
Etymology: Middle English worschipen, worshipen, from worschipe worship
transitive verb
1. : to honor or reverence as a divine being or supernatural power : venerate
the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit are uncreated and are to be worshiped together as one God — K.S.Latourette
the emperor, … worshiped as a god, is to serve as an instrument — Vera M. Dean
2. : to regard with respect, honor, or devotion : adore
in the Renaissance men worshiped antiquity — Stephen Spender
admire the poetry and worship the memory of the poet — William Du Bois
whom I … worshiped as only a young lover can — J.A.Rice
in his calm, unexcited way, he worships success — Rose Macaulay
he had the wildness we all worshiped — Eudora Welty
intransitive verb
: to perform or take part in worship or the act of worship
asks why people worship and gives three reasons — E.E.Aubrey
the old wooden meeting house where he had worshiped for so long — Catherine D. Bowen
content to worship at the shrine of the respectable and the traditional — C.I.Glicksberg
Synonyms: see revere