venerarse

Venerarse is a pronominal Spanish verb formed as the reflexive version of venerar, meaning to revere, honor, or show deep respect toward a person, deity, relic, or sacred place. The reflexive form is less common in everyday speech and is mainly found in formal, religious, or historical contexts. In many cases, the same idea is expressed with the non-reflexive venerar or with impersonal passive constructions such as se venera.

Etymology and meaning

Venerarse derives from venera, itself from the Latin venerari, “to worship or revere.” The pronominal use emphasizes the relation of reverence directed toward the referent, rather than the action being performed by an explicitly stated subject. In modern usage, it often appears in ceremonial or liturgical language, while venerar remains the standard verb for general reverence or worship.

Usage notes

In contemporary Spanish, it is common to use venerar for concrete acts of reverence. The reflexive form venerarse is rarer and tends to appear in older or highly formal texts, or to convey reverence directed at something one regards as sacred. The impersonal passive se venera is frequently used to indicate that reverence is shown by people in general: por ejemplo, La reliquia se venera en la iglesia.

Conjugation remarks

Venerarse conjugates as a regular -ar verb with reflexive pronouns. Example (presente de indicativo): me venero, te veneras, se venera, nos veneramos, os veneráis, se veneran.

See also

Veneración, veneración, venerable, venerar.