敬う

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 敬う（うやまう） expresses holding someone or something in high regard and showing reverence.
• Basic usage: It appears both in attitudes toward elders and in reverence for a mountain regarded as a source of blessings.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• The object of respect
  • The object takes を, as in 年長者を敬う. The second example shows the same verb used for reverence toward a mountain.
• Conjugation and continuity
  • The linking form of 敬う is 敬って. 敬ってきた describes an attitude of reverence continuing from the past up to the present.