sacred
English
Etymology 1
From Middle English sacred, isacred, past participle of sacren, sakeren (“to make holy, hallow”), from Old French sacrer (“to consecrate, anoint, dedicate”), from Latin sacrāre, present active infinitive of sacrō, from sacer (“sacred, holy”), from Proto-Indo-European *sh₂krós (“sacred”), from *seh₂k- (“to sanctify, to make a treaty”).
Pronunciation
Adjective
sacred (comparative more sacred or sacreder, superlative most sacred or sacredest)
- Characterized by solemn religious ceremony or religious use, especially, in a positive sense; consecrated, made holy.
- a sacred place;&emsp a sacred day;&emsp sacred service
- 1797, S[amuel] T[aylor] Coleridge, “Kubla Khan: Or A Vision in a Dream”, in Christabel: Kubla Khan, a Vision: The Pains of Sleep, London: […] John Murray, […], by William Bulmer and Co. […], published 1816, →OCLC, page 55:
- In Xanadu did Kubla Khan / A stately pleasure-dome decree: / Where Alph, the sacred river, ran / Through caverns measureless to man / Down to a sunless sea.
- 1882, Edward Shortland, Maori Religion and Mythology
- In doing this I particularly instructed my informant to tell his tale as if he were relating it to his own people, and to use the same words that he would use if he were recounting similar tales to them when assembled in a sacred house.
- 1955, anonymous, The Urantia Book : The Time of the Tomb:
- The cross is that high symbol of sacred service, the devotion of one's life to the welfare and salvation of one's fellows. The cross is not the symbol of the sacrifice of the innocent Son of God in the place of guilty sinners and in order to appease the wrath of an offended God, but it does stand forever, on earth and throughout a vast universe, as a sacred symbol of the good bestowing themselves upon the evil and thereby saving them by this very devotion of love.
- November 30 2016, Joe Whittle writing in The Guardian, 'We opened eyes': at Standing Rock, my fellow Native Americans make history
- Their intent was to march peacefully down a county road to DAPL headquarters, where tribal elders would pray and hold ceremony to bless the sacred sites being disturbed by pipeline construction.
- Religious; relating to religion, or to the services of religion; not secular
- 1667, John Milton, Paradise Lost:
- Smit with the love of sacred song.
- 2015, Douglas J. Davies & Adam J. Powell, Sacred Selves, Sacred Settings: Reflecting Hans Mol, →ISBN, page 87:
- By way of example, it would be sufficient to refer to Sabino Samele acquaviva (1971), previously known for his theory of the eclipse of the sacred, and to Harvey cox (1968), prophet of the secular city.
- Spiritual; concerned with metaphysics.
- 2014, Leon Niemoczynski & Nam T. Nguyen, A Philosophy of Sacred Nature: Prospects for Ecstatic Naturalism, →ISBN:
- Unlike most metaphysical or philosophical naturalists who reject any supernatural beings or supernatural/sacred entities, naturalists who take the concept of the sacred seriously must answer this question: “What is the value of the sacred with respect to nature?"
- 2014, Elazar Barkan & Karen Barkey, Choreographies of Shared Sacred Sites, →ISBN:
- In his major studies, Eliade explains the sacred and profane as “two modes of being in the world, two existential situations assumed by man in the course of history. . . . In the last analysis, the sacred and profane modes of being depend upon the different positions that man has conquered in the cosmos."
- Designated or exalted by a divine sanction; possessing the highest title to obedience, honor, reverence, or veneration; entitled to extreme reverence; venerable.
- 1595, Shakespeare, King Richard II:
- Such neighbor nearness to our sacred [royal] blood Should nothing privilege him.
- 1656, Abraham Cowley, On The Death Of Mr. Crashaw:
- Poet and saint to thee alone were given, The two most sacred names of earth and heaven.
- Not to be profaned or violated; inviolable.
- 1701, John Dryden, Aurenge-Zebe: Or, The Great-Mogul:
- Secrets of marriage still are sacred held.
- 2014, Christian Smith, The Sacred Project of American Sociology, →ISBN:
- The sacred project of sociology is simply to help people enjoy being fully what they are.
- (followed by the preposition "to") Consecrated; dedicated; devoted
- 1700, John Dryden, Palamon and Arcite:
- A temple, sacred to the queen of love.
- (archaic) Solemnly devoted, in a bad sense, as to evil, vengeance, curse, or the like; accursed; baleful.
- 1667, John Milton, Paradise Lost:
- But, to destruction sacred and devote.
Synonyms
- (made holy): (dedicated): consecrated
- divine
- godly
- (made holy): hallowed
- holy
- (not to be profaned): inviolable
- (not to be profaned): sacrosanct
Antonyms
Derived terms
Derived terms
Related terms
Related terms
Translations
made holy
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relating to religion
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designated by a divine sanction
not to be profaned or violated
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consecrated; dedicated; devoted
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archaic: solemnly devoted to evil, or the like
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Etymology 2
Pronunciation
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Verb
sacred
- simple past and past participle of sacre
Anagrams
Categories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
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- English terms derived from Latin
- English terms inherited from Proto-Indo-European
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- English 2-syllable words
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