homage

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[edit] English

[edit] Etymology

From Middle English homage, from Old French homage, hommage, from Medieval Latin hominaticum (homage, the service of a vassal or 'man'), from Latin homo (a man, in Medieval Latin a vassal).

[edit] Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈhɑmədʒ/, /ˈɑmədʒ/, /oʊˈmɑːʒ/[1]
  • *
    (file)

[edit] Noun

homage (plural homages)

  1. (historical) In feudalism, the formal oath of a vassal to honor his or her lord's rights.
    • 1593, William Shakespeare, Two Gentlemen of Verona
      We'll do thee homage, and be rul'd by thee,
      Love thee as our commander and our king.
  2. A demonstration of respect, such as towards an individual after their retirement or death
    • 1792, Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Women
      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
      It’s appropriate that we pay homage to them and the sacrifices they made.
  3. An artistic work imitating another in a flattering style. (This is a recent borrowing from French usage, and is often pronounced /oʊˈmɒːʒ/; see hommage, which preserves the French spelling.)
    • 2002, 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.

[edit] 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.[1]

[edit] Synonyms

[edit] Derived terms

[edit] Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. 1.0 1.1 "'Homage'", Ben Zimmer, "On Language", The New York Times, November 5, 2010

[edit] Anglo-Norman

[edit] Noun

homage m. (oblique plural homages, nominative singular homages, nominative plural homage)

  1. Alternative form of humage.

[edit] Old French

[edit] Alternative forms

[edit] Noun

homage m. (oblique plural homages, nominative singular homages, nominative plural homage)

  1. oath; pledge

[edit] Descendants

[edit] See also

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