page_title: Awe
section_title: Etymology
hierarchical_section_title: Awe / Etymology
caption_attribution_description: English: Lightning bolts hitting Atlanta skyscrapers
context_page_description: Awe is an emotion comparable to wonder but less joyous. On Robert Plutchik's wheel of emotions awe is modeled as a combination of surprise and fear.
  One dictionary definition is "an overwhelming feeling of reverence, admiration, fear, etc., produced by that which is grand, sublime, extremely powerful, or the like: in awe of God; in awe of great political figures." Another dictionary definition is a "mixed emotion of reverence, respect, dread, and wonder inspired by authority, genius, great beauty, sublimity, or might: We felt awe when contemplating the works of Bach. The observers were in awe of the destructive power of the new weapon."
  In general, awe is directed at objects considered to be more powerful than the subject, such as the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Grand Canyon, the vastness of the cosmos, or God.
context_section_description: The term awe stems from the Old English word ege, meaning “terror, dread, awe,” which may have arisen from the Greek word áchos, meaning “pain.” The word awesome originated from the word awe in the late 16th century, to mean “filled with awe.” The word awful also originated from the word awe, to replace the Old English word egeful (“dreadful”).
caption: This Atlanta lightning strike may have inspired awe.
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