sir reverence
Preserved but no longer current.
Sense 1
Human excrement, a t--d.
Era: ca. 1811 (Georgian)
Sources & notes
Historical definition reproduced from Grose’s Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue (1811 edition, public domain; Project Gutenberg #5402, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.
Sense 2
A corruption of the old phrase, SAVE YOUR REVERENCE, a sort of apology for alluding to anything likely to shock one’s sense of decency. Latin, SALVÂ REVERENTIÂ. See Shakspeare’s Romeo and Juliet, act i. scene iv. From this it came to mean the thing itself—human ordure generally, but sometimes other indecencies.
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Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Era: ca. 1874 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Historical definition reproduced from Hotten’s The Slang Dictionary (1874, public domain; Project Gutenberg #42108, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “sir reverence” mean?
Human excrement, a t--d.
Is “sir reverence” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.