Worship
An ancient compound of worthy and -ship, meaning something like “the state of having worth”, “reknown”, “honor”; thus one might have said, “the King has worship.” Around 1200 it was converted to a verb, as it is most commonly today (although you still hear honorifics like your Worship). Even later, the verb to worship was turned around to become a noun again, this time indicating the act itself (”he is deserving of worship“). Around 1300 it was applied religiously.
Worthy itself is of course derived from worth, meaning “having equivalent value”; this is probably ultimately the descendant of Proto Indo European wert, which is also the ancestor of -ward (as in inward and toward), stalwart, wyrd and weird, verse, vertex, anniversary, universe, and many others.
The primary syllable of worship indicates a grounded (long “o”) will (”w”) which has, or perhaps generates, great energy (”r”). Inherent in the idea of worship, then, is a will, a decision on the part of the worshipper. The secondary syllable, -ship, is very interesting here, because it is “bleached”: normally -ship indicates a noun, as in professorship or hardship, but because worship changed to a verb 900 years ago, -ship is now a firm part of the core meaning of the word. If it shows the result of the willful energy of wor, then it may indicate that the energy of the “r” breaks through a barrier (”sh”) and is brought up, light and tense (short “i”), to a target point (”p”). This would indicate that the result of worship is a breakdown of the barrier between self and Spirit.
Thanks to Ali for suggesting this word of the day.
June 20th, 2007 at 12:18 pm
A further note here: my wife notes that she pronounces “worship” and “warship” almost identically — with the same vowel in the first syllable, but with slightly more stress on the second syllable, since “warship” is a compound. The phonosemantics of “war” are approprate to the meaning — a strong, grounded will generating huge energy, with no specified directed result (compare “work”, where the will-induced energy is directed into a container “k”).
As for “ship”, the history and phonosemantics are complex enough to deserve its own entry…
June 26th, 2007 at 10:40 am
Thanks for taking a look at this word, Jeff (and sorry I’m so late in commenting!). I was curious about its etymology and phonosemantics because of a conversation with my best friend recently. He’s dead-set against the idea of “worship,” associating it with formal ritual within a structured religion and thinking of it as a kind of groveling or submission. On the other hand, I would be hard pressed to find a better word to describe a lot of what my spiritual practice is about, because I see worship as a kind of celebration and praise of one’s relationship with Spirit. It’s interesting that worship has (what now seems so obvious) a connection to the idea of “worth” and honor. I like the idea that the willed choice to acknowledge the “worth” of Spirit, rather than emphasizing the separation of self from that Spirit, actually becomes a process of breaking down the barriers between the two.
June 26th, 2007 at 10:50 am
Hey, no worries, Ali. I hope you had a great birthday!
It’s very curious how the meaning of the word has changed. I think many many people today would agree with your friend — I certainly would have, a couple of years ago, when I was Zen and the idea of worship was completely foreign to me. And yet the standard dictionary definitions say nothing about grovelling or submission — only reverence, honor, and love. I wonder if the word can still be salvaged?…
July 23rd, 2007 at 12:09 pm
[...] means “the Praiseworthy” — similar to the original meaning of the English word worship [...]