adore, v.
(əˈdɔə(r))
Forms: 3–4 aoure, 5 adoure, 6– adore.
[a. OFr. aöre-r, aüre-r, aoure-r:—L. adōrā-re to address, salute, reverence, in late L. to worship; f. ad to + ōrā-re to speak, entreat, beg, f. ōr- (nom. ōs) mouth. Refash. in 14th c. Fr. as adourer, adorer, whence Eng. adore. See anoure.]
1. To worship as a deity, to pay divine honours to. (Now almost confined to poetry.)
| c 1305 St. Kath. in E.E.P. 31 Here godes noþing nere: þat hi aourede hem to. 1340 Ayenb. 135 Yef þou wilt þanne lyerni god to bidde and to aouri ariȝt. 1483 Caxton Gold. Leg. 268/1 He was adoured and worshyped of all the peple as a god. 1484 ― Chyualry 4 To preye and adoure god Almyghty. 1557 Surrey æneid ii. (R.) My father..Spake to the gods, and tholy sterre adored. 1611 Bible Bel 4 The king worshipped it, and went daily to adore it. 1628 Prynne Cens. of Cozens 18 We may worship them in their Pictures—though wee may not Adore the Pictures themselues. 1732 Pope Ess. on Man iii. 198 Be crown'd as Monarchs, or as Gods adored. 1738 C. Wesley Hymn, Rejoice! the Lord is King! Your Lord and King adore! c 1860 J. S. B. Monsell Hymn ‘O worship the Lord,’ Kneel and adore Him, the Lord is His name! |
2. (In the usage of R.C. Ch.) To reverence with relative or representative honours.
| 1582 N. T. (Rhem.) Heb. xi. 22 By faith Iacob dying, blessed euery one of the sonnes of Ioseph; and adored the toppe of his rodde. 1762 Smollett Hist. Eng. an. 1689 (R.) He was met by a procession of popish bishops and priests..bearing the host, which he publickly adored. 1839 Keightley Hist. Eng. II. 69 He forbade the practice of creeping to the cross and adoring it. |
3. absol. and intr. To offer worship.
| 1582 N. T. (Rhem.) Acts x. 25 Cornelius came to meete him, and falling at his feete adored. 1664 H. More Myst. Iniq. 279 Pretending that a piece of bread is the very body of Christ..and is adored towards accordingly. a 1826 Heber Hymn ‘Holy, Holy, Holy,’ Gratefully adoring, our songs we raise to thee. 1843 E. Jones Sensat. & Event 12, I adore to it again. |
4. techn. To kiss the hand, to a sovereign, etc. (So explained by Selden, but perh. never so used.) Obs. Also, To elect (a pope) by adoration.
| 1614 Selden Titles 40 Προσκυνῶ is truly interpreted in Adosculor (if the composition bee lawfull) or Adoro; both signifying to honor by kissing the hand. 1670 G. H. tr. Hist. Cardinals iii. ii. 272 The Cardinals meeting in the Gallery, to go together and adore him in his Chamber. |
5. fig. To reverence or honour very highly; to regard with the utmost respect and affection. Now (also in trivial use), to like very much.
| 1594 Shakes. Rich. III, i. ii. 177 Let the Soule forth that adoreth thee. 1599 Marston Scourge of Vill. iii. ix. 218 My soule adores iudiciall schollership. 1718 Pope Iliad ix. 453 Slave as she was, my soul adored the dame. 1766 Anstey Bath Guide viii. (1779) 61 The tender soft sex I shall ever adore. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 575 The great mass of the population abhorred Popery and adored Monmouth. 1883 H. C. Lukens Jets & Flashes 40 I'm a freshman at Yale, as was daddy before me; The girls of New Haven, egad, they adore me. 1922 Joyce Ulysses 740 You will always think of the lovely teas we had together scrumptious currant scones and raspberry wafers I adore. 1938 W. B. Yeats New Poems 26 Sobriety is a jewel That I do much adore. 1950 D. Cusack Morning Sacrifice i. in Three Austral. Three-Act Plays 204 You know I simply adore cooking. 1954 O. Sitwell Four Continents xiv. 276 She..spent her spare time in writing letters to her mother, whom plainly she adored, in chapel-going, and in hotel..politics. 1960 C. Day Lewis Buried Day ii. 44, I adored physical contact with my father in those days. |
¶ By confusion of ME. adore-n and adorn-e(n, and contact of meanings in sense of honour, used for adorn.
| 1596 Spenser F.Q. iv. ii. 46 Like to the hore Congealed drops, who do the morn adore. c 1624 Flet. & Mass. Elder Brother iv. iii. (fol. 2, 118) Armlets for great queens to adore. |