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respect

 - 4 dictionary results

re·spect

[ri-spekt]
–noun
1.
a particular, detail, or point (usually prec. by in): to differ in some respect.
2.
relation or reference: inquiries with respect to a route.
3.
esteem for or a sense of the worth or excellence of a person, a personal quality or ability, or something considered as a manifestation of a personal quality or ability: I have great respect for her judgment.
4.
deference to a right, privilege, privileged position, or someone or something considered to have certain rights or privileges; proper acceptance or courtesy; acknowledgment: respect for a suspect's right to counsel; to show respect for the flag; respect for the elderly.
5.
the condition of being esteemed or honored: to be held in respect.
6.
respects, a formal expression or gesture of greeting, esteem, or friendship: Give my respects to your parents.
7.
favor or partiality.
8.
Archaic. a consideration.
–verb (used with object)
9.
to hold in esteem or honor: I cannot respect a cheat.
10.
to show regard or consideration for: to respect someone's rights.
11.
to refrain from intruding upon or interfering with: to respect a person's privacy.
12.
to relate or have reference to.
13.
in respect of, in reference to; in regard to; concerning.
14.
in respect that, Archaic. because of; since.
15.
pay one's respects,
a.
to visit in order to welcome, greet, etc.: We paid our respects to the new neighbors.
b.
to express one's sympathy, esp. to survivors following a death: We paid our respects to the family.
16.
with respect to, referring to; concerning: with respect to your latest request.

Origin:
1300–50; (n.) ME (< OF) < L respectus action of looking back, consideration, regard, equiv. to respec-, var. s. of respicere to look back (re- re- + specere to look) + -tus suffix of v. action; (v.) < L respectus ptp. of respicere

qua·si-re·spect·ed, adjective
un·der·re·spect·ed, adjective
un·re·spect·ed, adjective
well-re·spect·ed, adjective


1. regard, feature, matter. 2. regard, connection. 3. estimation, reverence, homage, honor. Respect, esteem, veneration imply recognition of personal qualities by approbation, deference, and more or less affection. Respect is commonly the result of admiration and approbation, together with deference: to feel respect for a great scholar. Esteem is deference combined with admiration and often with affection: to hold a friend in great esteem. Veneration is an almost religious attitude of deep respect, reverence, and love, such as we feel for persons or things of outstanding superiority, endeared by long association: veneration for one's grandparents, for noble traditions. 7. bias, preference. 9. revere, venerate, consider, admire. 10. heed.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
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World English Dictionary
respect (rɪˈspɛkt) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
1.  an attitude of deference, admiration, or esteem; regard
2.  the state of being honoured or esteemed
3.  a detail, point, or characteristic; particular: he differs in some respects from his son
4.  reference or relation (esp in the phrases in respect of, with respect to)
5.  polite or kind regard; consideration: respect for people's feelings
6.  (often plural) an expression of esteem or regard (esp in the phrase pay one's respects)
 
vb
7.  to have an attitude of esteem towards; show or have respect for: to respect one's elders
8.  to pay proper attention to; not violate: to respect Swiss neutrality
9.  to show consideration for; treat courteously or kindly
10.  archaic to concern or refer to
 
[C14: from Latin rēspicere to look back, pay attention to, from re- + specere to look]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin & History

respect
c.1300, from L. respectus "regard," lit. "act of looking back at one," pp. of respicere "look back at, regard, consider," from re- "back" + specere "look at" (see scope (1)). The verb is 1542, from the noun. Meaning "treat with deferential regard or esteem" is from 1560; respectable "worthy of respect" is from 1586 (implied in respected).
"I have certainly known more men destroyed by the desire to have wife and child and to keep them in comfort than I have seen destroyed by drink and harlots." [William Butler Yeats, "Autobiography"]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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