Definition

Noun: - The worship of a lord because of his rank or title: The act or practice of showing excessive admiration, deference, or devotion to a lord, nobleman, or person of high rank, primarily due to their social status or title rather than their personal qualities or merits.

Usage

This is a formal and somewhat rare noun, often used in critical or analytical contexts to describe a social or psychological attitude of undue reverence for aristocracy or hierarchical status. - It describes a specific type of adulation focused on hereditary or titled nobility. - The term often carries a negative or critical connotation, implying the reverence is unearned or misplaced.

Examples

• The historian criticized the culture of lordolatry in the medieval court, where the king's every whim was treated as divine command.
• His constant flattery of the duke was seen not as genuine respect but as sheer lordolatry.
• The novel satirizes the lordolatry of the upper classes, showing how empty titles commanded blind obedience.

Advanced Usage

• Conceptual Use: The term can be extended metaphorically beyond feudal lords to describe excessive reverence for any powerful authority figure in modern contexts, such as corporate CEOs or political leaders, when that reverence is based solely on their position.
  • The columnist warned against a new form of corporate lordolatry, where executives are treated like royalty.

Variants and Related Words

• Lordolatrous (adjective): Characterized by or showing lordolatry.
  • His lordolatrous behavior made him unpopular with those who valued merit over title.

Synonyms

• Deference: Humble submission and respect. (Less critical; can be neutral or positive.)
• Adulation: Excessive admiration or praise. (Broader; not specific to rank/title.)
• Hero-worship: Excessive admiration for someone. (Broader; focused on personal achievement or character.)
• Snobbery: The behavior or attitude of people who think they are better than others due to their social class. (Related, but focuses on the admirer's attitude rather than the act of worship.)

Antonyms

• Egalitarianism: The doctrine that all people are equal and deserve equal rights and opportunities.
• Disrespect: Lack of respect or courtesy.

Related Idioms & Phrases

• Worship of rank: A phrase with a very similar meaning to "lordolatry."
  • He was guilty of a simple worship of rank, caring only for a person's title.
• Bow and scrape: To behave in a servile or obsequious way.
  • The courtiers would bow and scrape before the king, a display of pure lordolatry.

Noun

1. the worship of a lord because of his rank or title