venerate
- To regard someone or something with great respect, reverence, and deep honor, especially because of age, wisdom, or sacred status.
In a sentence
- The community venerated the elderly monk, seeking his counsel on both spiritual and practical matters.
- Ancient artifacts venerated for centuries were put on display for the first time in a public museum.
Usage note. Venerate implies a degree of quasi-religious or deep cultural reverence beyond ordinary respect; using it for minor admiration can sound overwrought.
Where it comes from
English venerate · entered English early 17th c.
From Latin veneratus, past participle of venerari ('to worship, revere'), related to venus ('love, grace, beauty') and cognate with Sanskrit vanas ('desire'). It entered English in the early 17th century.