Praise | Webster's Dictionary (1865)

Prāise, n.

noun

n. [O. Fr. preis, preix, pris, N. Fr. prix, price, worth, value, estimation; Pr. pretz, Sp. prez, precio, Pg. preco, It. prezzo, Lat. pretium, D. prijs, N. H. Ger. preis, M. H. Ger. pris, Dan. priis, Sw. pris.]

Sense 1. Commendation for worth; approval of merit; honor rendered because of excellence or worth; laudation; laud; approbation.

There are men who always confound the praise of goodness with the practice. Rambler.

☞ Praise may be expressed by an individual, and then differs from fame, renown, and celebrity, which are always the expression of the approbation of numbers, or public commendation.

Sense 2. Especially, the joyful tribute of gratitude or homage rendered to the Divine Being; the act of glorifying or extolling the Creator; worship, often in song, in distinction from petition or confession.

He hath put a new song into my mouth, even praise unto our God. Ps. xl. 3.

Sense 3. The object, ground, or reason of praise.

He is thy praise, and he is thy God. Deut. x. 21.

Synonyms— Encomium; honor; eulogy; panegyric; plaudit; applause; acclaim; eclat.

Prāise, v. t.

verbtransitive

v. t. [imp. & p. p. PRAISED; p. pr. & vb. n. PRAISING.] [O. Fr. preisier, preiser, proisier, prisier, N. Fr. priser, Pr. & Pg. prezar, Sp. preciar, It. prezzare, Lat. pretiare, from pretium, D. prijzen, N. H. Ger. preisen, M. H. Ger. prîsen, Dan. prise, Sw. prisa. See supra, and cf. APPRAISE.]

Sense 1. To commend; to applaud; to express approbation of; — applied to a person or his acts.

We praise not Hector, though his name, we know, Is great in arms; ’tis hard to praise a foe. Dryden.

Sense 2. To extol in words or song; to magnify; to glorify on account of perfections or excellent works; to do honor to; to display the excellence of; — applied especially to the Divine Being.

Praise ye him, all his angels; praise ye him, all his hosts! Ps. cxlviii. 2.

Synonyms— To commend; applaud; laud; eulogize; celebrate; glorify; magnify. — To PRAISE, APPLAUD, EXTOL. To praise is to set at a high price; to applaud is to greet with clapping; to extol is to bear aloft. We may praise in the exercise of calm judgment; we usually applaud from impulse, and on account of some specific act; we extol under the influence of high admiration, and usually in strong, if not extravagant, language.

Will God incense his ire For such a petty trespass, and not praise Rather your dauntless virtue? Milton.

I would applaud thee to the very echo, That should applaud again. Shak.

Heaven and earth shall high extol Thy praises, with the innumerable sound Of hymns. Milton.

Prāise, v. t.

verbtransitive

v. t. To estimate the value of; to rate; to appraise. [Obs.] Chaucer.