adj. 1. Deserving reverence. 2. Relating to or characteristic of the clergy; clerical. 3. Reverend Abbr. Rev. Used as a title and form of address for certain clerics in many Christian churches. In formal usage, preceded by the: the Reverend Jane Doe; Reverend John Jones. n. Informal A cleric or minister. Used with the. [Middle English, from Old French, from Latin reverendus, gerundive of reverērī, to revere; see REVERE1.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.