homage

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English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Middle English homage, from Old French homage, hommage, from Medieval Latin hominaticum (“homage, the service of a vassal or 'man'”) and Late Latin homaticum, from Latin homo (“a man, in Medieval Latin a vassal”) + -aticum (“pertaining to”). The American pronunciations in /-ɑːʒ/ and with silent h are due to confusion with the near-synonym hommage, which is indeed pronounced /oʊˈmɑːʒ/.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

homage (countable and uncountable, plural homages)

  1. (countable, uncountable) A demonstration of respect, such as towards an individual after their retirement or death
    • 1735, [Alexander] Pope, An Epistle from Mr. Pope, to Dr. Arbuthnot, London; Dublin: Re-printed by George Faulkner, bookseller, […], OCLC 6363280:
      I sought no homage from the race that write.
    • 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.
    • 2021 January 13, Christian Wolmar, “Read all about London's Cathedrals of Steam”, in RAIL, issue 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.
  2. (countable) An artistic work imitating another in a flattering style. Recently, the pronunciation /oʊˈmɒːʒ/ has been introduced from French for this usage; see hommage, which preserves the French spelling.
    • 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.
  3. (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.

Usage notes[edit]

  • 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]

Synonyms[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

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 Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

Verb[edit]

homage (third-person singular simple present homages, present participle homaging, simple past and past participle homaged)

  1. (transitive, obsolete) To pay reverence to by external action.
  2. (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[edit]

Further reading[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "'Homage'", Ben Zimmer, "On Language", The New York Times, November 5, 2010

Anagrams[edit]

Middle English[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from Old French homage, hommage, from Medieval Latin homināticum.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /ɔmˈaːdʒ(ə)/, /umˈaːdʒ(ə)/

Noun[edit]

homage (plural homages)

  1. An oath of loyalty to a liege performed by their vassal; a pledge of allegiance.
  2. Money given to a liege by a vassal or the privilege of collecting such money.
  3. A demonstration of respect or honor towards an individual (including prayer).
  4. (rare) Membership in an organised religion or belief system.
  5. (rare) The totality of a feudal lord's subjects when collected.

Related terms[edit]

Descendants[edit]

  • English: homage
  • Scots: homage

References[edit]

Old French[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Medieval Latin hominaticum; equivalent to home +‎ -age.

Noun[edit]

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

  1. oath; pledge

Descendants[edit]

See also[edit]

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