sanctuary
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Contents |
English [edit]
Etymology [edit]
From Middle English sanctuary , from Old French saintuaire, from Late Latin sanctuarium (“a sacred place, a shrine, a private cabinet, in Medieval Latin also temple, church, churdyard, cemetery, right of asylum”), from Latin sanctus (“holy, sacred”); see saint.
Noun [edit]
sanctuary (plural sanctuaries)
- A place of safety, refuge, or protection.
- My car is a sanctuary, where none can disturb me except for people who cut me off.
- An area set aside for protection.
- The bird sanctuary has strict restrictions on visitors so the birds aren't disturbed.
- A state of being protected, asylum.
- The government granted sanctuary to the defector, protecting him from his former government.
- The consecrated (or sacred) area of a church or temple around its tabernacle or altar.
Synonyms [edit]
Translations [edit]
place of safety or protection
|
area set aside for protection
|
|
state of being protected
|
|
consecrated area
External links [edit]
- sanctuary in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
- sanctuary in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
