Link Centre Dictionary

awe

UK/ɔː/ US/ɔ̝ː] ~ [o̞ː/ fairly common
noun (2) verb (1)

noun

1.

an overwhelming feeling of wonder or admiration

  • “he stared over the edge with a feeling of awe”
2.

a profound emotion inspired by a deity

  • “the fear of God”
Synonyms

verb

1.

inspire awe in

  • “The famous professor awed the undergraduates”

Origin

From Middle English aw, awe, agh, awȝe, borrowed from Old Norse agi, from Proto-Germanic *agaz (“terror, dread”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂egʰ- (“to be upset, afraid”). Displaced native Middle English eye, eyȝe, ayȝe, eȝȝe, from Old English ege, æge (“fear, terror, dread”), from the same Proto-Germanic root.

Phrases

  • awe walk
  • shock and awe

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.