venerableadj.n.
/ˈvɛn(ə)rəbl/, U.S. /ˈvɛnər(ə)b(ə)l/, /ˈvɛnrəb(ə)l/ A. adj.† 5. Giving evidence of veneration; reverent, reverential. Obsolete. (So Latin venerabilis.)
1. Of persons: Worthy of being venerated, revered, or highly respected and esteemed, on account of character or position:
a. As an epithet of ecclesiastics (or ecclesiastical bodies), now spec. of archdeacons or, in the Roman Catholic Church, of those who have attained the first degree of canonization. (Frequently abbreviated as Ven.)
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > respect > reverence > quality of inspiring reverence > [adjective] > as epithet of ecclesiastics
venerable1437
reverend1509
society > faith > aspects of faith > holiness > saint > canonization > [adjective] > first degree of
venerable1437
worshipfula1450
1437 Dunfermline Reg. (Bannatyne Club) 285 A venerabill fadir in crist Androw..Abbot of Dunfermlyn.
1455 in C. Innes Registrum Episcopatus Aberdonensis (1845) I. 275 Be it kende..me Valter of Deskfurde..to be oblysit..til ane venerabille man master Johnne of Clat.
?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 2261) (1874) V. 187 Venerable faders of religion were in Egipte in this tyme.
1500 Reg. Privy Seal Scotl. I. 69/1 Ane Letter..to ane venerable fader Henry, abbot of Cambuskynneth.
a1700 in Publ. Catholic Rec. Soc. (1911) 9 336 Much Relishing venble Father Bakers..Bookes, wch she write out and faithfully practised.
a1732 T. Boston Memoirs (1776) xii. 440 Having the dissent by me in writ..from which I read it before this Venerable Assembly [sc. the synod].
1757 tr. J. G. Keyssler Trav. II. 427 Here..lie together the sacred bodies of the venerable fathers Sosius and Severinus.
1834 K. H. Digby Mores Catholici V. iv. 110 In the same age, Peter the Venerable, of Cluny, was defending the use of them [organs] against the Petrobrusians.
1872 The Month Aug. 25 The Ven. Bartholomew Holzhauser..died in Germany in 1658.
1894 Daily News 29 Jan. 5 Joan of Arc has been..declared ‘venerable’ by the Congregation of Rites. That is..the first step to saintship.
b. In general use. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > respect > reverence > quality of inspiring reverence > [adjective]
reverentc1410
reverendc1440
reverentiala1631
veneral1631
venerable1641
reverable1675
canonizable1913
1641 J. Jackson True Evangelical Temper ii. 131 Hee was.. a man so venerable amongst both the Christians, and Heathen, that his ordinary style was, The Doctor of whole Asia.
1681 in C. M. Ingleby & L. T. Smith Shakespeare's Cent. Prayse (1879) 386 I can't..omit the first Famous Masters in't of our Nation, Venerable Shakespear and the great Ben Johnson.
1751 S. Richardson Clarissa (ed. 3) III. xxxii. 175 We have often regretted the particular Fault, which, tho' in venerable characters, we must have been blind not to see.
1756 W. Duncan tr. Cicero Sel. Orations ix. 297 It is with justice..that Ennius bestows upon poets the epithet of venerable.
c. Const. for (something) or to (persons). rare.
ΚΠ
1653 Ld. Vaux tr. A. Godeau Life St. Paul 53 A man even to his enemies venerable for his piety.
1713 R. Steele in Guardian 14 Mar. 1/1 Persons who have devoted themselves to the Service of God, are venerable to all who fear Him.
1833 A. Alison Hist. Europe during French Revol. I. viii. 473 The Archbishop of Arles, venerable for his years and his virtues.
2. in extended use.1878 R. L. Stevenson Inland Voy. 4 Cattle and gray venerable horses came and hung their mild heads over the embankment.
a. Commanding veneration or respect by reason of age combined with high personal character and dignity of appearance; having an impressive appearance in virtue of years and personal qualities.
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > person > old person > [adjective] > old and experienced
venerable?a1500
grey-haired1611
veteran1624
grand1845
the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > respect > reverence > quality of inspiring reverence > [adjective] > on account of age or antiquity
venerable?a1500
veterate1565
time-honoured1597
a1500 R. Henryson tr. Æsop Fables: Lion & Mouse l. 1384 in Poems (1981) 56 I said, ‘Esope, my Maister venerabill, I ȝow beseik [etc.].’
c1530 A. Barclay Egloges ii. sig. Hij v Suche men with pryncys, be sene more acceptable Than men of wysdom and clerkes venerable.
1545 G. Joye Expos. Daniel (vi.) f. 86v Daniel was now a right venerable sage olde father more then .lxxx. yeares olde.
1609 T. Dekker Guls Horne-bk. sig. B2v O thou venerable father of antient (and therefore hoary) customes, Syluanus, I inuoke thy assistance.
1650 J. Bulwer Anthropometamorphosis 130 Man shews more venerable, especially if by age his hairs be every where fairly superaboundantly circumfused.
1687 T. Brown Saints in Uproar in Wks. (1730) I. 73 A venerable old gentleman, who, they say, had been high pontiff of Rome in the days of yore.
a1701 H. Maundrell Journey Aleppo to Jerusalem (1703) 86 Said to be the House of Simeon, that venerable old Prophet.
1787 R. Burns Let. 25 Oct. (2001) I. 167 Reverend and Venerable Sir, Accept..my most sincere thanks [etc.].
1847 L. H. Kerr tr. L. von Ranke Hist. Servia 303 Amongst those executed before Belgrade were venerable Senators..and aged and renowned Woiwodes.
1862 M. E. Braddon Lady Audley's Secret I. i. 8 A white beard which made him look venerable against his will.
1873 P. G. Hamerton Intellect. Life iv. ii. 143 A venerable country gentleman who had seen a great deal of the world.
b. Applied to personal features or attributes of these.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > source or principle of life > age > old age > [adjective] > relating to or characteristic of
oldOE
aged1561
grey-headed1581
frosty1592
grey1602
veneral1631
senile1661
venerable1726
gerontic1885
post-reproductive1900
1726 A. Pope tr. Homer Odyssey V. xxiv. 325 The Father, with a father's fears: (His venerable eyes bedimm'd with tears).
1737 R. Glover Leonidas ii. 192 His slender hairs, which time had silver'd o'er, Flow'd venerable down.
1808 W. Wilson Hist. Dissenting Churches II. 50 Mr. Barker was in person well made,..and of a venerable appearance.
1816 W. Scott Old Mortality i, in Tales of my Landlord 1st Ser. IV. 25 He wore a breast-plate, over which descended a grey beard of venerable length.
1861 F. A. Paley Æschylus' Supplices (ed. 2) 314 (note) The king might naturally call the old man πάνσοϕος from his prudence and venerable aspect.
3. Of things:
a. Worthy of, to be regarded with, religious reverence.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > worship > [adjective] > worthy of
blessedc1230
worshipfulc1350
venerable?1504
adorable1601
worshipable1622
?1504 M. Beaufort tr. Thomas à Kempis Ful Treat. Imytacyon Cryste (Pynson) iv. i. 261 Wherefore than shulde nat I be more inflamed in thy venerable presence?
1509 A. Barclay Brant's Shyp of Folys (Pynson) f. clxxxiiiv Our lordes holy woundes fyue, His handes his fete and his crosse venerable.
1596 T. Bell Suruey Popery iii. x. 405 How wilt thou touch thy mouth with his venerable blood.
1615 H. Crooke Μικροκοσμογραϕια 339 Among the vnequall numbers the seauenth hath the first place, whose maiesty and diuinitie is so great, that the antients tearmed it sacred and venerable.
1642 Bp. J. Taylor Of Sacred Order Episcopacy (1647) 169 A Bishop hath no new power in the consecration of the Venerable Eucharist, more then a Presbyter hath.
c1680 W. Beveridge Serm. (1729) I. 539 The day of Expiation was..much more sacred and venerable than the common sabbath.
1837 J. H. Newman Parochial Serm. I. 322 What a venerable and fearful place is a Church.
1855 A. Bain Senses & Intellect ii. iii. 558 A strong natural feeling of reverence accumulates a store of ideas of things venerable.
1879 C. Rossetti Seek & Find 308 Awful then and by us venerable is the dignity of each Christian priest.
b. Worthy of veneration or deep respect; deserving to be revered on account of noble qualities or associations.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > respect > reverence > quality of inspiring reverence > [adjective] > of things, places, or qualities
reverent?c1400
reverendc1443
venerand1549
sacred1560
venerable1601
reverentiala1631
numinous1647
1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World I. 81 Ios from Naxus 24 miles, venerable for the sepulchre of Homer.
1646 Sir T. Browne Pseudodoxia Epidemica i. viii. 33 Holy Writers, and such whose names are venerable unto all posterity. View more context for this quotation
1665 J. Glanvill Sciri Tuum: Authors Defense 77 in Scepsis Scientifica To oppose what custom and great names have render'd venerable.
1700 N. Rowe Ambitious Step-mother i. i The thoughts of Princes dwell in sacred Privacy Unknown and venerable to the Vulgar.
1769 W. Robertson Hist. Charles V III. x. 207 The ancient and venerable fabric of the German constitution.
1830 J. Mackintosh Diss. Progress Ethical Philos. 27 Those qualities which are naturally amiable or venerable.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. i. 74 Throughout the whole course of his reign, all the venerable associations by which the throne had long been fenced were gradually losing their strength.
c. Fitted to excite feelings of veneration; impressive, august.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > reputation > majesty, glory, or grandeur > [adjective] > specifically of things or ideas
regal1561
prince-worthy1574
mounted1601
august1602
elevated1604
venerable1615
tall1655
seraphical1656
big1660
rarefied1662
elevate1667
grand1678
dignified1763
princessly1813
sublimized1827
high-stepping1867
1615 H. Crooke Μικροκοσμογραϕια 70 For it is a venerable sight to see a man when he is come to the yeares fit for it, to haue his face compassed about with thicke and comely haire.
1718 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. 31 July (1965) I. 422 We saw..yet standing the vast pillars of a Temple of Minerva. This venerable sight made me think..on a Beautifull Temple of Theseus.
1737 W. Whiston tr. Josephus Antiq. Jews xi. viii, in tr. Josephus Genuine Wks. 353 The procession was venerable, and the manner of it different from that of other nations.
1764 O. Goldsmith Traveller 7 While oft some temple's mould'ring top between, With venerable grandeur marks the scene.
4. absolute.1693 J. Dryden Disc. conc. Satire in J. Dryden et al. tr. Juvenal Satires p. l Ancient words..which, with all their rusticity, had somewhat of Venerable in them.
a. Worthy of veneration or respect on account of age or antiquity; rendered impressive by the appearance of age.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > relative time > the past > oldness or ancientness > [adjective] > and worthy of respect
oldlyOE
veterate1565
venerable1610
age-honoured?a1616
time-honoured1821
1610 P. Holland tr. W. Camden Brit. i. 738 An affectionate lover of venerable antiquity.
1653 Ld. Vaux tr. A. Godeau Life St. Paul 151 Against an ancient tradition, which to many seems so venerable.
1671 F. Philipps Regale Necessarium Ep. Ded. sig. a4v Those evidences and venerable Monuments of Time.
1770 O. Goldsmith Deserted Village 178 His looks adorn'd the venerable place.
1796 H. Hunter tr. J.-H. B. de Saint-Pierre Stud. Nature (1799) II. 421 Thus it is that you are clothed with majesty, venerable ruins of Greece and Rome!
1817 T. Moore Lalla Rookh 171 That venerable tower, he told them, was the remains of an ancient Fire-temple.
1870 C. Dickens Edwin Drood iii. 13 In the midst of Cloisterham stands the Nuns' House; a venerable brick edifice.
1904 J. T. Fowler Durham Univ. 63 The oldest of the venerable lime-trees date from time immemorial.
b. Ancient, antique, old.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > relative time > the past > oldness or ancientness > [adjective]
oldeOE
eldeda1400
antique1490
invetered1490
prisk1533
grey-headed1578
ancient1579
hoar1590
inveterated1597
antiquated1598
inveterate1598
long-dated1602
avital1611
vetust1623
old-standinga1627
grey-haired1637
superannuateda1644
avitous1731
old-established1776
venerable1792
timeworn1840
inworn1864
avitic1865
1792 S. Rogers Pleasures Mem. i. 65 Those muskets cased with venerable rust.
1842 H. Rogers Introd. Burke's Wks. I. 1 Thus a single generation often witnesses the complete demolition of certain venerable errors, propagated and believed through a long succession of ages.
1847 C. Brontë Jane Eyre I. xi. 197 Chests in oak or walnut..rows of venerable chairs, high-backed and narrow.
1857 L. H. Grindon Life (ed. 2) iv. 35 The periodical (atomic) renewal of the body is one of the most venerable ideas in physiology.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > respect > reverence > [adjective]
worshipful1357
reverenta1382
reverend1449
reverencing1573
reverentiala1575
venerate1592
venerable1613
revering1639
venerating1663
venerant1846
venerational1854
venerative1860
1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage 145 They speake in order, and obserue euen without the house a venerable silence.
1624 J. Fisher in F. White Repl. Fisher 224 Kissing their feet, and their sores, out of venerable affection vnto Christ.
1675 G. R. tr. A. Le Grand Man without Passion 77 Although I have a venerable value for the favourers of this opinion.
a1701 H. Maundrell Journey Aleppo to Jerusalem (1703) 7 The Venerable presents of some Itinerant Fryars.
1709 Ld. Shaftesbury Moralists ii. iii. 85 To talk magisterially and in venerable Terms of..an Infinite Being.
B. n.
a. A venerable person; an ecclesiastic having the title of ‘Venerable’.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > respect > reverence > quality of inspiring reverence > [noun] > one who
reverencea1627
venerable1748
1748 S. Richardson Clarissa VI. xxxiii. 122 Lord M. has engaged the two venerables to stay here, to attend the issue.
1826 R. Southey Vindiciæ Ecclesiæ Anglicanæ 444 But can heresy have come from the Venerables and Saints of the Romish Church?
1891 G. Meredith One of our Conquerors xxxv He described his country's male venerables as being distinguishable from annuitant spinsters only in presenting themselves forked.
b. A venerable thing; an antique.Apparently an isolated use.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > relative time > the past > oldness or ancientness > [noun] > object from the past or antique
antique1530
relic1605
relict1646
venerable1803
morceau de musée1896
period piece1909
1803 R. Southey Select. from Lett. (1856) I. 222 My old and ugly stall~gleanings are all now turning to account... In turning over these venerables, you would be surprised to see how much I find that bears upon biography.
Compounds
venerable-like, venerable-looking adjs.
ΚΠ
1632 W. Lithgow Totall Disc. Trav. vi. 264 Wee found twelue Venerable like Turkes.
1766 O. Goldsmith Vicar of Wakefield I. xiv. 141 Was he not, a venerable looking man, with grey hair?
1854 tr. H. Hettner Athens & Peloponnese 31 Tall, venerable-looking men, with noble features.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1916; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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adj.n.1437