awe
pronunciation
How to pronounce awe in British English:
UK [ɔː]
How to pronounce awe in American English:
US [ɔː]
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- Noun:
- an overwhelming feeling of wonder or admiration
- a profound emotion inspired by a deity
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- Verb:
- inspire awe in
Word Origin
- awe
- awe: [13] Old English had the word ege, meaning ‘awe’, but modern English awe is a Scandinavian borrowing; the related Old Norse agi steadily infiltrated the language from the northeast southwards during the Middle Ages. Agi came, like ege, from a hypothetical Germanic form *agon, which in turn goes back to an Indo-European base *agh- (whence also Greek ákhos ‘pain’). The guttural g sound of the 13th-century English word (technically a voiced velar spirant) was changed to w during the Middle English period. This was a general change, but it is not always reflected in spelling – as in owe and ought, for instance, which were originally the same word.
- awe (n.)
- c. 1300, aue, "fear, terror, great reverence," earlier aghe, c. 1200, from a Scandinavian source, such as Old Norse agi "fright;" from Proto-Germanic *agiz- (cognates: Old English ege "fear," Old High German agiso "fright, terror," Gothic agis "fear, anguish"), from PIE *agh-es- (cognates: Greek akhos "pain, grief"), from root *agh- "to be depressed, be afraid" (see ail). Current sense of "dread mixed with admiration or veneration" is due to biblical use with reference to the Supreme Being. To stand in awe (early 15c.) originally was simply to stand awe. Awe-inspiring is recorded from 1814. Al engelond of him stod awe. ["The Lay of Havelok the Dane," c. 1300]
- awe (v.)
- c. 1300, from awe (n.); Old English had egan (v.). Related: Awed; awing.
Example
- 1. She whispers , shaking her head in awe .
- 2. The time for " shock and awe " in economic policymaking is now .
- 3. Today , people are yet more in awe of the achievements of china .
- 4. Today the world is equally in awe of american universities .
- 5. Reverence and awe aren 't democratic virtues .