▪ I. awe, n.1
(ɔː)
Forms: α. 1–2 eᵹe, æᵹe, 2 aȝeie, ȝeie, (heie), 2–3 æie, 2–4 eie, 3 eiȝe, eȝe, eȝȝe, æiȝe, (eaye, heye, heiȝe), 3–4 eye, 4 eighe, eyghe, ayghe, ay, aye. β. 3 aȝe, aȝhe, 3–4 au, auu, 4 auȝe, awȝe, agh, awee, (hage, owe), 5 aghe, 4–8 aw, 4– awe.
[The actual awe, in 13th c. aȝe, was a. ON. agi, acc. aga (Da. ave), representing an OTeut. *agon- wk. masc. (of which the OE. repr. would have been aga); but this was preceded in EE. by native forms descending from OE. ęᵹe, str. masc.,:—OTeut. *agiz str. neut., Goth. agis fear, taken as if it were a str. masc. agi-z. (Both f. ag-an to fear.) The ME. eye, (aye,) and awe, were thus in origin and derivation distinct though cognate words, but were practically treated as dialectal variants of the same word, of which aye was still used in s.w. c1400, while awe was in the n.e. c1250. The sense-development is common to both. They are therefore here taken together; the examples being separated into groups α(from OE. ęᵹe) and β(from ON. agi).]
I. As a subjective emotion.
† 1. Immediate and active fear; terror, dread. Obs.
| α c 855 O.E. Chron. an. 457 Þa Brettas..mid micle eᵹe fluᵹon. 1006 Ibid. (Laud MS.) Þa wearð hit swa mycel æᵹe fram þam here. 1205 Lay. 18924 Mid æie vnimete [1250 Mid heye onimete]. 1297 R. Glouc. 507 More uor eye than vor loue. 1330 R. Brunne Chron. 220 Of non þe had ay. c 1330 Arth. & Merl. 465 Gret ayghe and dout. Ibid. 6429 For sorwe and drede and eighe, Thai flowen euerich his weighe. |
| β a 1300 Cursor M. 8793 ‘Durst we for auu, Vr thoght gladli we wald þe scau.’ c 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 1870 Ne for luf ne awe er nane sparde. 1375 Barbour Bruce xi. 555 Cum on, forouten dreid or aw. 1589–1657 [see 4 b]. 1784 Cowper Task ii. 722 His voice Shook the delinquent with such fits of awe. |
2. From its use in reference to the Divine Being this passes gradually into: Dread mingled with veneration, reverential or respectful fear; the attitude of a mind subdued to profound reverence in the presence of supreme authority, moral greatness or sublimity, or mysterious sacredness.
| α c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. xxviii. 8 Mið eᵹe & mið micle glædnise. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 75 Habben heie of him ouer alle þing. 1297 R. Glouc. 469 The child lovede him..Ne he nadde of no man: more love ne eye. |
| β a 1300 E.E. Psalter lxxxix. 30 If sones of him for-lete mi lagh, And in mi domes noghte haves gane with agh. 1380 Wyclif Deadly Sins Sel. Wks. 1871 III. 167 Wiþ awȝe þenke, mon, hou þou hafs of God bothe powere and appetit. 1413–1535 [see 4 a]. 1671 Milton P.R. i. 22 To his great Baptism flocked With aw the Regions round. 1742 Collins Epist. 7 With conscious awe she hears the critick's fame. 1827 Keble Chr. Year Matrim., There is an awe in mortals' joy, A deep mysterious fear. |
3. The feeling of solemn and reverential wonder, tinged with latent fear, inspired by what is terribly sublime and majestic in nature, e.g. thunder, a storm at sea.
| β 1756 Burke Subl. & B. iv. §7 (1808) 266 Astonishment, the subordinate degrees..are awe, reverence, and respect. 1833 H. Martineau Cinnam. & Pearls iii. 43 She pointed with awe to a mighty object. 1851 Ruskin Mod. Paint. II. iii. i. xiv. §26 It is possible to conceive of terribleness, without being in a position obnoxious to the danger of it, and so without fear; and the feeling arising from this contemplation of dreadfulness, ourselves being in safety, as of a stormy sea from the shore, is properly called awe. |
4. phr. a. to stand in awe of: to be greatly afraid of, to dread; later, to entertain a profound reverence for.
(This phrase has a remarkable grammatical development; its original type was ‘Awe stood to men’ (i.e. there was fear on men's part), or, with the object of fear expressed, ‘Awe of me stood to men,’ and ‘Awe of (rarely to, with) me stood men (dat.)’; this, ‘men’ being erron. taken as a nom. case, was inverted into ‘Men stood awe of me,’ and finally, to restore the logical sense destroyed by this misconception, ‘in’ was inserted, giving ‘Men stood in awe of me.’)
| α c 1000 Ags. Ps. lxxvi. 12 Eorð-cynincᵹum se eᵹe standeð. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 161 Mare eie stondeð men of monne þanne hom do of criste. 1205 Lay. 11694 Him ne stod æie to naþing [1250 him ne stod eye of no þing]. 1330 R. Brunne Chron. 8 He stode of him non eye. c 1380 Sir Ferumb. 408 Of C[harlis] þat ys ȝour Emperer{revsc} of whame men stondeð aye..þe soþe þou me saye. |
| β c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 432 Caym..wurð ut-laȝe, wið dead him stood hinke and aȝe. a 1300 Cursor M. 482 Fra ful hei he fell fullaw Þat of his lauerd wald stand nan aw. c 1320 Seuyn Sag. (W.) Therof ne stod him non owe. 1413 Lydg. Pylgr. Sowle v. xiv. 81 Of theyre lord and god to stande in awen. c 1460 Towneley Myst. 305, I stand great aghe to loke on that Justyce. 1535 Coverdale Ps. cxix. 161 My herte stondeth in awe of thy wordes. a 1600 Scot. Poems 16th C. (1801) II. 170 Wee stand aw Of Gods hie magnificence. 1653 Holcroft Procopius, The King..stands in aw of a Generall directing him. 1784 Cowper Lett. 29 Feb. Wks. 1876, 161 We stand in awe of we know not what. |
b. to hold or keep in awe (of): to restrain or control by fear (of).
| α [c 1000 Ags. Ps. xciv. 10 Se þe eᵹe healdeþ eallum þeodum.] |
| β a 1300 Cursor M. 5518 Halds þam for-þi in au [v.r. agh, awee, awe]. 1589 R. Harvey Pl. Perc. (1860) 14 Yt were good to keepe such a Cur in awe. 1602 Shakes. Ham. v. i. 238 Oh, that that earth, which kept the world in awe, Should patch a Wall. 1657 J. Smith Mys. Rhet. 144 Nations kept in aw of his name. |
II. As an objective fact.
5. Power to inspire fear or reverence; overawing influence. arch.
(Arising from the originally objective genitive, ‘his awe’ (= awe of him), taken as possessive.)
| α c 1000 ælfric Gen. ix. 2 Beo eower eᵹe..ofer ealle nitenu. 1205 Lay. 17965 Þu scalt habben þis lond, & þin æie beon muchel & strong. |
| β c 1400 Ywaine & Gaw. 2411, I sal deliver hir of his aw. 1601 Shakes. Jul. C. ii. i. 52 Shall Rome stand vnder one mans awe? 1679 Dryden Troil. & Cr. Ep. Ded., You see, my Lord, what an Awe you have upon me. 1815 Scott Ld. of Isles ii. xxv, Yet nought relax'd his brow of awe. |
† 6. Behaviour that inspires fear; anger, fierceness, rage. Obs.
| α 1205 Lay. 1897 Al was heora gristbatinge, al swa wilde bares eȝe. Ibid. 9702 Hehten heom mucle eiȝe ut of his æh seone. 1330 R. Brunne Chron. 37 Wrothfulle wordes of eye. |
† 7. Something which inspires fear; a cause of dread; a restraint. Obs. [ON. agi has also sense of ‘constraint.’]
| α c 825 Vesp. Ps. xci. 5 Ne ondredes ðu ðe from eᵹe næhtlicum. 1205 Lay. 2087 For swulchen eiȝe gode heo hefden muchele drede. |
| β a 1300 Cursor M. 1773 Þat sorwe to se was greet awe. 1330 R. Brunne Chron. 333 Jhesu þorgh his myght, blissed mot he be, Reised him vp right, & passed þat hage. 1657 in Burton's Diary (1828) II. 56 The Parliament may remove such persons. This will be an awe over them. |
III. Comb. a. objective with pr. pple., as awe-awakening, awe-compelling, awe-inspiring. b. instrumental with pa. pple., as awe-filled, awe-bound, -struck.
| 1849 Rock Ch. of Fathers I. ii. 90 The awe-awakening sound of some early Father's voice. |
| 1757 Gray Bard 117 Her awe-commanding face. |
| 1880 ‘Mark Twain’ Tramp Abroad II. xliii. 151 This awe-compelling miracle. 1889 J. H. Skrine Mem. E. Thring xi. 275 The stern ‘Thou shalt’..of the law, in those awe-compelling tones. 1923 J. W. Harvey tr. Otto's Idea of Holy xi. 85 ‘The mysterious’ itself in its dual character as awe-compelling yet all-attracting. |
| 1860 Pusey Min. Proph. 397 Reverential, awe-filled faith. |
| 1814 Wordsworth Excursion iv. 887 The simple Shepherd's awe-inspiring God. 1819 Shelley Cenci i. ii. 84 Her awe-inspiring gaze. |
▪ II. awe, n.2
Forms: 6 alve, 7 aue, 9 ave, 6– awe, aw.
[Etym. and original form unknown: ave (ɛɪv) and aw, awe (ɔː), now used in Sc., point to an earlier (ɑːv). The F. aube is said by Littré to mean ‘white wood,’ from the material of which the aubes are made.]
One of the float-boards of an undershot water-wheel, on which the water acts.
| 1503 MS. Reg. Test. Ebor. VI. 83 Lez cogges, spyndyll, awes [of Butterwich Mill]. 1532 MS. Reg. Leases Dean & Ch. York I. 53 Cogges, spendeles, and alves [of Otley Mill]. 1611 Cotgr., Aubes, the short boordes which are set into th' outside of a water-mills wheele; we call them ladles, or aue-boords. c 1795 Unst in Shetland Statist. Acc. V. 191 (Jam.) The water falls upon the awes, or feathers of the tirl, at an inclination of between 40 and 45 degrees. 1884 Rev. W. Gregor (in letter), Start-and-ave wheel, that is a wheel on the boards or aves of which the water struck, in opposition to ‘bucket-wheel.’ 1884 J. Melrose (in letter), The start is the piece of timber morticed into the rings, to which the awe is fastened. |
▪ III. awe, v.
(ɔː)
Also 4 agh.
[f. prec. n.; OE. had éᵹan (= Goth. *ógjan) in comp. onéᵹan; and mod.Icel. has aga to ‘chastise’: cf. awe n.1 7.]
1. To inspire with dread, strike fear into, terrify, daunt; to control, constrain, or restrain, by the influence of fear. (At first impers.)
| 1303 Brunne Handl. Synne 10283 Lytyl of Goddes veniaunce hym aweth. c 1340 Cursor M. (Fairf.) 12096 Ȝe loue na landis lagh quen ȝe ȝour childe wille noȝt agh. 1577 tr. Bullinger's Decades (1592) 142 They..awe their seruants to worke. 1599 Shakes. Much Ado ii. iii. 250 Shall quips, and sentences..awe a man from the careere of his humour. 1707 Lond. Gaz. No. 4372/1 Two English Men of War..who may..awe the Privateers of Barbary. 1876 Green Short Hist. viii. §10 (1882) 586 The gloomy silence of their ranks awed even the careless King with a sense of danger. |
† b. said of a strategical position (cf. overawe).
| 1670 Cotton Espernon i. iii. 128 This Town..absolutely commands the River of Dordongne, as it also at least awes that of Garonne. 1809 J. Barlow Columb. vii. 570 Two British forts the growing siege outflank, Rake its wide works and awe the tide-beat bank. |
2. To influence, control, or restrain, by profound respect or reverential fear.
| 1611 Bible Prov. xvii. 10 marg., A reproofe aweth..a wise man. 1640 Bp. Reynolds Passions xxix. 302 Their presence aweth us from Liberty of Sinning. 1781 Gibbon Decl. & F. II. xlv. 711 He was not awed by the sanctity of the place. 1835 Macready Remin. I. 464 Milton elevates, thrills, awes, and delights me. |
3. To inspire with reverential wonder combined with an element of latent fear.
| 1753 Hogarth Anal. Beauty vi. 29 The wide ocean awes us with its vast contents. 1872 Jenkinson Eng. Lakes 205 The traveller is awed by the frowning mass of Great End. |
† 4. To reverence. Obs. rare.
| 1632 Bp. M. Smyth Serm. 166 So they deserue to be vsed that..will not reuerence and awe the King. |
▪ IV. awe
obs. form of owe and ought.