From Old English weorþscipe ('worthiness'), a compound of 'worth' and '-ship', this purely secular word about human value was gradually captured by religious language in Middle English.
The feeling or expression of reverence and adoration for a deity; religious rites or ceremonies. Also: great admiration or devotion.
From Old English weorþscipe ('condition of being worthy, honour, renown'), a compound of weorþ ('worth, worthy') and -scipe (the suffix '-ship'). The word originally had no religious connotation — it meant 'worthiness' or 'the state of being honoured'. In Old English, a person of worship was simply a person of worth. The religious sense developed in Middle English as the word narrowed to mean specifically the honour paid to a deity. The title 'Your Worship' for magistrates preserves the older