Literary noun describing a state of being deeply awed or struck with reverent fear. Rare in modern Japanese; more commonly expressed as 恐懼 (きょうく) or with phrases like 畏れ多い.
In old documents, the expression 'a feeling of awe' can be found.
The kanji 惶 (fear, awe) and 懼 (fear, dread) combine to express a state of reverent fear. The exact historical derivation is uncertain; the word is a Sino-Japanese compound (kango) likely adopted from classical Chinese.
