The word 'worship' originates from the Old English 'weorþscipe', a compound meaning "worthiness, honor, dignity". Its first element, 'weorþ', derives from the Proto-Germanic 'werþaz', meaning "toward, opposite, against", which evolved to signify "worth, value". The second element is the common Germanic suffix '-scipe' (modern '-ship'), which forms nouns indicating state, condition, or office. The semantic journey is clear: from the concrete condition of "being worthy", the term was applied to the honor and reverence shown to a worthy being, such as a lord or a deity. By the 13th century, its primary meaning had specialized to denote the religious reverence and rites paid to God, while retaining a secular sense of profound admiration.

This is a simplex word of Old English origin. The modern form is a fusion of the Old English noun 'weorþscipe', meaning "condition of being worthy, honor, dignity". It is composed of 'weorþ' (worthy) + '-scipe' (-ship, a suffix forming nouns of state or condition), but these elements are not directly segmentable from the modern spelling 'worship'.