σέβομαι, mostly used in
present:
imperfect in [
Refs 5th c.BC+]:
future σεβήσομαι [
Refs 2nd c.AD+]:
aorist ἐσέφθην [
Refs 5th c.BC+]:—
feel awe or
fear before God,
feel shame, οὔ νυ σέβεσθ; [
Refs 8th c.BC+]; σεφθεῖσα
awe-stricken, [
Refs] [same place]: rarely with
infinitive,
dread or
fear to do a thing, σ. προσιδέσθαι, ἀντία φάσθαι [
Refs 5th c.BC+]: so with
accusative of things,
to fear to do it, [
Refs 5th c.BC+]: with
participle, σ. προσορῶν [
Refs 5th c.BC+]
2) after [
Refs 8th c.BC+], with
accusative person,
revere, worship, Κρονίδαν [
Refs 5th c.BC+]; πάντων ἀνάκτων κοινοβωμίαν[
Refs 5th c.BC+]; Λυκοῦργον σέβεσθαι
worship him
as a hero, [
Refs 5th c.BC+];
do homage to Zeus, [
Refs 4th c.BC+]: generally,
pay honour or
respect to. , θνατοὺς ἄγαν σ. [
Refs]; τὸ φίλον [
Refs 5th c.BC+]
2.b) especially of Jewish proselytes, σεβομένη τὸν θεόν [
NT+1st c.AD+]; σεβόμενοι προσήλυτοι, Ἕλληνες, [
NT]
3) of things, τὰ βυβλία σεβόμενοι μεγάλως [
Refs 5th c.BC+]
II)
active σέβω is post-[
Refs 8th c.BC+], used only in
present and
imperfect,
worship, honour, mostly of the gods, σ. Δήμητρος πανήγυριν [
Refs 7th c.BC+]; τἀν Ἅιδου[
Refs]; rare in Prose, νομίζεται θεοὺς σέβειν [
Refs 5th c.BC+]; but also of parents, [
Refs 5th c.BC+]; of kings, [
Refs]; of suppliants, [
Refs 5th c.BC+]; σέβειν ἐν τιμῇ with
accusative, [
Refs 5th c.BC+]
infinitive, ὑβρίζειν ἐν κακοῖσιν οὐ σέβω, i.e. τὸ ὑβρίζειν, I do not
respect, approve it, [
Refs 4th c.BC+]: rarely of a god, Ποσειδῶν. τὰς ἐμὰς ἀρὰς σέβων [
Refs 5th c.BC+] —σέβομαι as
passive,
to be reverenced, ἡ δ᾽ οἴκοι [πόλις] πλέον δίκῃ σέβοιτ᾽ ἄν [
Refs 5th c.BC+]; τὸ σεβόμενον
reverence, [
Refs 1st c.AD+]
II.2) less frequently
absolutely,
to worship, to be religious, τὸν σέβοντ᾽ εὐεργετεῖν [
Refs 5th c.BC+]; but in all these places an object should perhaps be supplied from the context. (σέβομαι probably originally '
I shrink from. ', of which σοβέω is the causal; perhaps
cognate with Sanskrit
tyajati 'desert, let go'.)