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Webster 1913 Edition


Venerable

Ven′er-a-ble

,
Adj.
[L.
venerabilis
: cf. F.
vénérable
.]
1.
Capable of being venerated; worthy of veneration or reverence; deserving of honor and respect; – generally implying an advanced age;
as, a
venerable
magistrate; a
venerable
parent
.
He was a man of eternal self-sacrifice, and that is always
venerable
.
De Quincey.
Venerable
men! you have come down to us from a former generation.
D. Webster.
2.
Rendered sacred by religious or other associations; that should be regarded with awe and treated with reverence;
as, the
venerable
walls of a temple or a church
.
☞ This word is employed in the Church of England as a title for an archdeacon. In the Roman Catholic Church, venerable is applied to those who have attained to the lowest of the three recognized degrees of sanctity, but are not among the beatified, nor the canonized.
Ven′er-a-ble-ness
,
Noun.
Ven′er-a-bly
,
adv.

Webster 1828 Edition


Venerable

VEN'ERABLE

,
Adj.
[L. venerabilis, from veneror, to honor, to worship.]
1.
Worthy of veneration or reverence; deserving of honor and respect; as a venerable magistrate; a venerable parent.
2.
Rendered sacred by religious associations, or being consecrated to God and to his worship; to be regarded with awe and treated with reverence; as the venerable walls of a temple or church.
The places where saints have suffered for the testimony of Christ - rendered venerable by their death.

Definition 2024


Venerable

Venerable

See also: venerable and vénérable

English

Adjective

Venerable (comparative more Venerable, superlative most Venerable)

  1. A form of address for an archdeacon in the Anglican Church
  2. The description in the Roman Catholic Church of someone in the first stages of sainthood
  3. The description of some saints in the Eastern Orthodox Church

Translations

Related terms

  • The Venerable Bede

venerable

venerable

See also: Venerable and vénérable

English

Adjective

venerable (comparative more venerable, superlative most venerable)

  1. Commanding respect because of age, dignity, character or position.
    • 2013 July 20, The attack of the MOOCs”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845:
      Dotcom mania was slow in coming to higher education, but now it has the venerable industry firmly in its grip. Since the launch early last year of Udacity and Coursera, two Silicon Valley start-ups offering free education through MOOCs, massive open online courses, the ivory towers of academia have been shaken to their foundations.
  2. Worthy of reverence.
  3. Ancient, antiquated or archaic.
  4. Made sacred especially by religious or historical association.
  5. Giving an impression of aged goodness and benevolence.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Translations


Spanish

Adjective

venerable m, f (plural venerables)

  1. venerable