Respect

How to spell respect

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce respect

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does respect mean?

1. nounA feeling of admiration or esteem for someone or something, or due regard for their wishes or rights.
2. verbTo admire or hold in high regard, or to honour and abide by something such as a rule or wish.

Respect in a sentence

• noun

  The team earned the respect of every rival manager in the league.

• verb

  Good employers respect the privacy of their staff.

• noun

  Out of respect for the neighbours, they kept the music low after midnight.

• verb

  Drivers must respect the speed limit through the village.

Where does respect come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word comes from the Latin respectus, the noun formed from respicere, which literally meant 'to look back at' or 'to look again', built from re- meaning 'back' and specere meaning 'to look'. The idea of turning to look at something repeatedly carried a sense of paying it heed or holding it in regard, so the word came to mean consideration and esteem. English took it in during the 1300s through Old French, at first carrying senses like 'relation' or 'regard for', as still survives in the phrase 'with respect to'. The same spect root that means 'look' runs through a whole family of relatives such as inspect, spectator, and prospect, which is a useful reminder that the word is spelled with the visible -spect cluster. Because the unstressed first syllable sounds like 'ri', the spelling 're' is the only mild trap.

How the word is built

• re- (back, again)
• spect (to look, from Latin specere); literally 'to look back at, to regard'