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, n. — Ven"er*a*bly, adv.
||Ven`e*ra"ce*a (?), n. pl. [NL. See Venus.] (Zoöl.) An extensive tribe
||of bivalve mollusks of which the genus Venus is the type. The shells
||are usually oval, or somewhat heartshaped, with a conspicuous lunule.
||See Venus.
||
Ven"er*ate (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Venerated (?); p. pr. & vb. n.
Venerating.] [L. veneratus, p. p. of venerari to venerate; akin to
Venus Venus, Skr. van to like, to wish, and E. winsome. See Winsome.]
To regard with reverential respect; to honor with mingled respect and
awe; to reverence; to revere; as, we venerate parents and elders.
And seemed to venerate the sacred shade.
Dryden.
I do not know a man more to be venerated for uprightness of heart and
loftiness of genius.
Sir W. Scott.
Syn. — To reverence; revere; adore; respect.
Ven`er*a"tion (?), n. [L. veneratio: cf. F. vénération.] The act of
venerating, or the state of being venerated; the highest degree of
respect and reverence; respect mingled with awe; a feeling or
sentimental excited by the dignity, wisdom, or superiority of a person,
by sacredness of character, by consecration to sacred services, or by
hallowed associations.
We find a secret awe and veneration for one who moves about us in
regular and illustrious course of virtue.
Addison.
Syn. — Awe; reverence; respect. See Reverence.