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venerable

 - 4 dictionary results

ven⋅er⋅a⋅ble

  [ven-er-uh-buhl]
Use venerable in a Sentence
–adjective
1. commanding respect because of great age or impressive dignity; worthy of veneration or reverence, as because of high office or noble character: a venerable member of Congress.
2. a title for someone proclaimed by the Roman Catholic Church to have attained the first degree of sanctity or of an Anglican archdeacon.
3. (of places, buildings, etc.) hallowed by religious, historic, or other lofty associations: the venerable halls of the abbey.
4. impressive or interesting because of age, antique appearance, etc.: a venerable oak tree.
5. extremely old or obsolete; ancient: a venerable automobile.
–noun
6. a venerable person.
Origin:
1400–50; late ME < L venerābilis, equiv. to venerā(rī) to venerate + -bilis -ble

Related forms:
ven⋅er⋅a⋅bil⋅i⋅ty, ven⋅er⋅a⋅ble⋅ness, noun
ven⋅er⋅a⋅bly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To venerable
ven·er·a·ble   (věn'ər-ə-bəl)   
adj.  

  1. Commanding respect by virtue of age, dignity, character, or position.

  2. Worthy of reverence, especially by religious or historical association: venerable relics.

  3. Venerable Abbr. Ven. or V.

    1. Roman Catholic Church Used as a form of address for a person who has reached the first stage of canonization.

    2. Used as a form of address for an archdeacon in the Anglican Church or the Episcopal Church.

ven'er·a·ble·ness, ven'er·a·bil'i·ty n., ven'er·a·bly adv.
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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Word Origin & History

venerable 
1432, from L. venerabilis, from venerari "to worship, revere" (see veneration). As a title, used in ref. to ecclesiastics or those who had obtained the first degree of canonization.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Encyclopedia

venerable

title or respectful form of address, used from very early times in Europe, especially for certain clergy or for laymen of marked spiritual merit. St. Augustine in some epistles cited the term in reference to bishops, and Philip I of France was styled venerabilis and venerandus ("reverential"). The venerable by which Saint Bede is commonly known ("the Venerable Bede," or "Bede the Venerable") survives from a contemporary practice of so addressing bishops and abbots and, posthumously, worthy clerics such as Bede.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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