Emily Dickinson Lexicon

REV'ER-ENCE, n. [Fr. from L. reverentia.]

1. Fear mingled with respect and esteem; veneration. When quarrels and factions are carried openly, it is a sign that the reverence of government is lost. – Bacon. The fear acceptable to God, is an awful fear, an awful reverence of the divine nature, proceeding from a just esteem of his perfections, which produces in us an inclination to his service and an unwillingness to offend him. – Rogers. Reverence is nearly equivalent to veneration, but expresses something less of the same emotion. It differs from awe, which is an emotion compounded of fear, dread or terror, with admiration of something great, but not necessarily implying love or affection. We feel reverence for a partent, and for upright magistrate, but we stand in awe of a tyrant. This distinction may not always he observed.
2. An act of respect or obeisance; a bow or courtesy. – 2 Sam. ix. Dryden. Fairfax.
3. A title of the clergy. – Shak.
4. A poetical title of a father. – Shak.