worship

Everyday

1. To worship means to show love and respect to God or a god, by praying, singing or going to religious services. tree →
2. Worship is these acts of prayer and praise. tree →
3. To worship someone means to love or admire them very much, sometimes too much. tree →

In the lessons

In RE pupils learn how people of different religions worship and where (church, mosque, synagogue, temple, gurdwara), and that places of worship deserve respect (quiet voices, removing shoes or covering heads where asked). In everyday language fans can worship a pop star or footballer. Phrases: «place of worship», «act of worship», «hero worship».

Examples

• Christians worship in a church. tree →
• Muslims worship in a mosque. tree →
• A gurdwara is the Sikh place of worship. tree →
• The ancient Egyptians worshipped many gods. tree →
• Take your shoes off before entering this place of worship. tree →
• My little brother worships his big cousin. tree →
• Some people worship at home. tree →
• Our school assembly sometimes has a time of worship. tree →
• The worship of Helios was introduced into Greece from Asia. tree →

Note

British spelling doubles the p: «worshipped, worshipping»; American often uses one p: «worshiped, worshiping». Pronounced WUR-ship. The noun is uncountable.

In Jewish tradition

In the Torah this means bowing down before God, or, as a warning, before other gods or idols. The word often goes with "serve", as in "serve other gods and worship them".

Interpretation. The tradition reads the commandment against worshipping other gods as the heart of the covenant, and it forbids bowing to idols. Prayer is called "service of the heart" because it takes the place of the Temple service.

Examples

• Take heed to yourselves, lest your heart be deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them; (Torah DEU.11.16, JPS 1917) tree →
• But if thy heart turn away, and thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them; (Torah DEU.30.17, JPS 1917) tree →
• And unto Moses He said: 'Come up unto the LORD, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship ye afar off; (Torah EXO.24.1, JPS 1917) tree →
• Let us go into His dwelling-place; let us worship at His footstool. (Writings PSA.132.7, JPS 1917) tree →
• There shall no strange god be in thee; neither shalt thou worship any foreign god. (Writings PSA.81.10, JPS 1917) tree →
• O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness; tremble before Him, all the earth. (Writings PSA.96.9, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

British spelling doubles the p: «worshipped, worshipping»; American often uses one p: «worshiped, worshiping». Pronounced WUR-ship. The noun is uncountable.