Other forms: awes
Awe is wonder mixed with respect before something vast — mountains, space, genius. Stand in awe, filled with awe, awe-inspiring.
Psychologists find it reliably shrinks the sense of self and makes people more generous afterwards, which is one of the few findings about emotion that holds up well. The word came from Old Norse and meant terror; the fear has faded and the vastness stayed.
1nounaweWonder mixed with respect before something vast.
“We stood in awe at the edge of the Grand Canyon.”
awe is a feeling.
Old Norse agi means terror or dread. The fear faded and the sense of vastness remained.
Proto-Indo-European
*h₂egʰ- — to be upset, afraid
Proto-Germanic
*agaz — terror, dread
Old Norse
agi
Middle English
aw
English, today
awe
Built from
From Middle English aw, awe, agh, awȝe, borrowed from Old Norse agi, from Proto-Germanic agaz (“terror, dread”), from Proto-Indo-European h₂egʰ- (“to be upset, afraid”). Displaced native Middle English eye, eyȝe, ayȝe, eȝȝe, from Old English ege, æge (“fear, terror, dread”), from the same Proto-Germanic root.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA