Meanings
plural hyperdulias
- uncountableusuallyCatholicismA level of veneration higher than dulia but less than latria, properly given to the Virgin Mary only.
1 more example
By the thirteenth century, the growth of devotion to Mary, the Mother of God, in both East and West led John of Damascus's admirer Thomas Aquinas to formalize a further refinement: the concept of an exceptional sort of veneration, hyperdulia, offered only to the greatest of God's creations, Mary, the mother of Jesus.
2009, Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity, Penguin, published 2010, page 451Synonyms: hyperveneration
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA level of veneration higher than dulia but less than latria, properly given to the Virgin Mary only.
Origin
- Ancient Greekδουλείᾱ“slavery”
- Ancient Greekὑπέρ“above”
- Medieval Latinhyperdūlīa
- Englishhyperdulia
From Medieval Latin hyperdūlīa, from hyper-, from Ancient Greek ὑπέρ (hupér, “above”) + dūlīa, from Ancient Greek δουλείᾱ (douleíā, “slavery”), from δοῦλος (doûlos, “slave”).
More words from Medieval Latin, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
hyperdulia. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hyperdulia
“hyperdulia.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hyperdulia. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hyperdulia,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hyperdulia.
Source: hyperdulia on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.