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homage. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
homage, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
homage in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
homage you have here. The definition of the word
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English
Etymology
From Middle English homage, from Old French homage, hommage, from Medieval Latin homināticum (“homage, the service of a vassal or 'man'”), from Latin homō (“a man, in Medieval Latin a vassal”) + -āticum (noun-forming suffix). The American pronunciations in /-ɑːʒ/ and with silent h are due to confusion with the nearly synonymous doublet hommage, which is indeed pronounced /oʊˈmɑːʒ/.
Pronunciation
Noun
homage (countable and uncountable, plural homages)
- (countable, uncountable) A demonstration of respect, such as towards a person after their retirement or death.
1791 (date written), Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman: With Strictures on Political and Moral Subjects, 1st American edition, Boston, Mass.: Peter Edes for Thomas and Andrews, , published 1792, →OCLC:When a man squeezes the hand of a pretty woman, […] she will consider such an impertinent freedom in the light of an insult, if she have any true delicacy, instead of being flattered by this unmeaning homage to beauty.
2006, “New York Times”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name):It’s appropriate that we pay homage to them and the sacrifices they made.
2021 January 13, Christian Wolmar, “Read all about London’s Cathedrals of Steam”, in RAIL, number 922, page 62:My rainy-day tour in April during the first lockdown was, in fact, a homage to Sir John Betjeman - the poet and railway campaigner whose statue can be found on the upper concourse of St Pancras station.
- (countable) An artistic work imitating another in a flattering style.
- 2002, Kevin Williamson, Dawson's Creek (TV, episode 6.01)
- He likes to tell people that it's a Hitchcockian thriller, but that's kind of like saying Happy Gilmore is a homage to Woody Allen.
- (historical) In feudalism, the formal oath of a vassal to honor his or her lord's rights.
c. 1590–1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Two Gentlemen of Verona”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):We'll do thee homage, and be rul'd by thee, / Love thee as our commander and our king.
- Synonym: (obsolete) manred
Usage notes
- Often used in the construction pay homage to.
- Because of the different pronunciations, homage is sometimes preceded by the article a and sometimes by an.
- Recently, the pronunciation /oʊˈmɑːʒ/ has been introduced from French for sense 2; see hommage, which preserves the French spelling.
Derived terms
Translations
artistic work imitating another in a flattering style
Translations to be checked
Verb
homage (third-person singular simple present homages, present participle homaging, simple past and past participle homaged)
- (transitive, obsolete) To pay reverence to by external action.
- (transitive, obsolete) To cause to pay homage.
1641, Abraham Cowley, A Poem on the Civil War:The Austrian Crowns and Romes seven Hills she shook; >br>To her great Neptune Homag'd all his Streams
Translations
pay reverence to somebody
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "'Homage'", Ben Zimmer, "On Language", The New York Times, November 5, 2010
Further reading
- “homage”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “homage”, in The Century Dictionary , New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
- Homage (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
Anagrams
Middle English
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Old French homage, hommage, from Medieval Latin homināticum.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɔmˈaːd͡ʒ(ə)/, /umˈaːd͡ʒ(ə)/
Noun
homage (plural homages)
- An oath of loyalty to a liege performed by their vassal; a pledge of allegiance.
- Money given to a liege by a vassal or the privilege of collecting such money.
- A demonstration of respect or honor towards an individual (including prayer).
- (rare) Membership in an organised religion or belief system.
- (rare) The totality of a feudal lord's subjects when collected.
Related terms
Descendants
References
Old French
Alternative forms
Etymology
Calque of Medieval Latin homināticum. By surface analysis, home + -age.
Noun
homage oblique singular, m (oblique plural homages, nominative singular homages, nominative plural homage)
- oath; pledge
Descendants
See also