English
reverend
Reverend comes from Middle French révérend.
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600révérend
- Englishearliest quotation 1960reverend
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600révérend
- Englishearliest quotation 1960reverend
Earliest quotation: 1960, Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird: “Reverend Sykes closed his sermon. He stood beside a…”
Every English word from Middle French révérend
Today it means
adj Worthy of reverence or respect.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle French révérend / reverend