sacrifice

Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary

Contents 1 English 1.1 Etymology 1.2 Pronunciation 1.3 Verb 1.3.1 Synonyms 1.3.2 Related terms 1.3.3 Translations 1.4 Noun 1.4.1 Translations

[edit] English

Wikipedia

[edit] Etymology

From Latin sacrificium (“‘sacrifice’”), from sacrificō (“‘make or offer a sacrifice’”), from sacer (“‘sacred, holy’”), + faciō (“‘do, make’”).

[edit] Pronunciation

•  Audio (US)^{help, file}

[edit] Verb

to sacrifice (third-person singular simple present sacrifices, present participle sacrificing, simple past and past participle sacrificed)

1. To offer as a gift to a deity.
2. To give away something valuable to get at least a possibility to gain something else of value (such as self-respect, trust, love, freedom, prosperity), or to avoid an even greater loss.
   • “Don’t you break my heart / ’Cause I sacrifice to make you happy.” - From the song Baby Don’t You Do It by Marvin Gaye
   • “God sacrificed His only-begotten Son, so that all people might have eternal life.”
3. To trade a value of higher worth for one of lesser worth in order to gain something else valued more such as an ally or business relationship or to avoid an even greater loss; to sell without profit to gain something other than money.
   • "If you trade a penny for a dollar, it is not a sacrifice, if you trade a dollar for a penny, it is" - from the book Atlas shrugged by Ayn Rand.
4. (chess) To intentionally give up a piece in order to improve one’s position on the board.
5. (baseball) To advance a runner on base by batting the ball so it can be caught or fielded, placing the batter out, but with insufficient time to put the runner out.

[edit] Synonyms

to sell without profit

• to sell at a loss

[edit] Related terms

• sacrificial
• sacrificially

[edit] Translations

[edit] Noun

sacrifice (plural sacrifices)

1. Something sacrificed.
2. (baseball) A play in which the batter is intentionally out in order that runners can advance around the bases.

[edit] Translations