Homage

How to spell homage

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce homage

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does homage mean?

1. nounPublic respect or honour shown to someone or something admired.
2. nounIn feudal society, a formal acknowledgement by a vassal of allegiance to a lord.

Homage in a sentence

• The festival pays homage to the directors who shaped modern cinema.

• The knight knelt to swear homage to the king before receiving his estate.

• His quiet speech was a sincere homage to the colleagues who trained him.

• Each new baron travelled to court to pay homage for his lands.

Where does homage come from?

Language of origin: French

This word travelled into English from Old French 'homage' (also spelled 'hommage'), which came from the medieval Latin 'hominaticum', a noun built on the Latin 'homo', meaning simply 'man'. The literal idea was the ceremony in which a vassal formally declared himself to be his lord's man, kneeling and pledging loyalty in exchange for land or protection. English adopted the term in the 1200s with exactly this feudal sense of sworn allegiance. Over the centuries the meaning softened from a binding oath into the broader modern notion of respect or public tribute paid to someone admired. The single 'm' in the English spelling is the usual trap, since the French alternative 'hommage' has two; remembering that the root is 'homo' (one man) can help fix the single consonant.

How the word is built

• hom- (from Latin homo: man)
• -age (noun-forming suffix denoting an act or condition)