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homage

 - 5 dictionary results

hom⋅age

[hom-ij, om-]
–noun
1. respect or reverence paid or rendered: In his speech he paid homage to Washington and Jefferson.
2. the formal public acknowledgment by which a feudal tenant or vassal declared himself to be the man or vassal of his lord, owing him fealty and service.
3. the relation thus established of a vassal to his lord.
4. something done or given in acknowledgment or consideration of the worth of another: a Festschrift presented as an homage to a great teacher.

Origin:
1250–1300; ME (h)omage < OF, equiv. to (h)ome man (< L hominem, acc. of homō; see Homo ) + -age -age


1. deference, obeisance; honor, tribute. 3. fidelity, loyalty, devotion.


1. irreverence. 3. disloyalty.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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hom·age   (hŏm'ĭj, ŏm'-)   
n.  
  1. Ceremonial acknowledgment by a vassal of allegiance to his lord under feudal law.

  2. Special honor or respect shown or expressed publicly. See Synonyms at honor.


[Middle English, from Old French, probably from omne, homme, man, from Latin homō, homin-; see dhghem- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Cultural Dictionary

homage

Under feudalism, the personal submission of a vassal to a lord, by which the vassal pledged to serve the lord and the lord to protect the vassal.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

homage 
c.1290, from O.Fr. homage "allegiance or respect for one's feudal lord," from homme "man," from L. homo (gen. hominis). Fig. sense of "reverence, honor shown" is from 1390.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Encyclopedia

homage

in European society, solemn acts of ritual by which a person became a vassal of a lord in feudal society. Homage was essentially the acknowledgment of the bond of tenure that existed between the two. It consisted of the vassal surrendering himself to the lord, symbolized by his kneeling and giving his joined hands to the lord, who clasped them in his own, thus accepting the surrender.

Learn more about homage with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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