Dictionary / adore
adore
- verb
- from Old French
To worship.
1 All current definitions
Every sense of “adore” in current use, as recorded by Wiktionary. Older and obsolete senses are kept separately.
verb
- To worship.
Now, gods that we adore, whereof comes this?c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act
- To love with one's entire heart and soul; regard with deep respect and affection.
It is obvious to everyone that Gerry adores Heather.
- To be very fond of.
Older & obsolete senses (1)
- obsoleteTo adorn.
2 History of the word
The etymology, the path the word travelled, and the words built from it.
The word’s journey, newest to oldest:
- English (today)adore
- Middle English*adoren
- Old Frenchadorer
- Latinadōrō “to pray to”
- Latinad “to” + ōrō “to speak”
From Middle English *adoren, aouren, from Old French adorer, aorer, from Latin adōrō (“to pray to”), from ad (“to”) + ōrō (“to speak”).
Derivatives — words built from “adore”
Related terms
Want to go deeper? See also “adore” on Etymonline ↗
3 Original language
Where “adore” came from before it was English.
4 Original meaning
What the word meant at the oldest point the record reaches.
Historical meaning — Webster’s 1913
A historical record, labelled as such: some of these senses are dated or have since shifted.
adore v. t. [OE. aouren, anouren, adoren, OF. aorer, adorer, F. adorer, fr. L. adorare; ad + orare to speak, pray, os, oris, mouth. In OE. confused with honor, the French prefix a- being confused with OE. a, an, on. See Oral.]
- To worship with profound reverence; to pay divine honors to; to honor as a deity or as divine.
- To love in the highest degree; to regard with the utmost esteem and affection; to idolize.
adore v. t.
- To adorn.
5 Use it with confidence
Model sentences from the sources, matched to the meaning they show. Read each one aloud, then make your own in the game.
verbMeaning: To worship.
Now, gods that we adore, whereof comes this?c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act
O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.1852, Frederick Oakeley (translator), “O Come, All Ye Faithful” in Francis H. Murray, A Hymnal for Use in the English Church, Come and behold him Born the King of Angels
verbMeaning: To love with one's entire heart and soul; regard with deep respect and affection.
It is obvious to everyone that Gerry adores Heather.
The great mass of the population abhorred Popery and adored Monmouth.1849, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter V, in The History of England from the Accession of James II, volume I, London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC, page 388:
verbMeaning: love intensely
he just adored his wife
Three steps to owning it
- Pick one meaning above and read its model sentence out loud.
- Say who or what the word is about in your own life, then build a sentence around that.
- Check it against the definition: would a careful reader understand exactly that meaning?
6 The mastery game
Play it here, or print it and do it with pen and paper. At the end you will know the meanings, history, origin and original meaning — and you will have used the word yourself.
Say it, then spell it
adore
/əˈdɔː/ · adore
Say the word out loud three times, slowly. Notice the stressed syllable. When you are ready, hide it and spell it from memory.
Activate Words · Word-mastery worksheet · Name: ______________________ Date: __________
adore
/əˈdɔː/ · adore · verb
Step 1 — Say it and write it
Say “adore” out loud three times. Then cover the word and write it three times from memory.
Step 2 — Know every meaning
Read each definition. Then write it again in your own words.
Step 3 — History and origin
Write the word’s journey back in time (each language and form):
Write three words built from “adore” and what each means:
Step 4 — Original meaning
The earliest traceable form is Latin adōrō. What did it mean?
How does that original meaning connect to the meanings today?
Step 5 — Use it yourself
☐ I can explain its meanings ☐ I know its history ☐ I know its original language ☐ I know its original meaning ☐ I can use it confidently
Answer key — adore
Origin: A. Old French (Old French adorer)
Journey: English adore ← Middle English *adoren ← Old French adorer ← Latin adōrō ← Latin ad + ōrō
Some derivatives: adorant, adorative, adorement, adorer, adoringly, overadored, unadored
Original meaning: Latin adōrō — “to pray to”
Built from: ad “to” + ōrō “to speak”
Etymology: From Middle English *adoren, aouren, from Old French adorer, aorer, from Latin adōrō (“to pray to”), from ad (“to”) + ōrō (“to speak”).
Sources: Wiktionary “adore” (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/adore#English), CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org; Princeton WordNet 3.0; Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913, public domain) via GCIDE. Worksheet from https://activatewords.com/w/adore