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Webster 1913 Edition

Sacred

Sa′cred

,
Adj.
[Originally p. p. of OE.
sacren
to consecrate, F.
sacrer
, fr. L.
sacrare
, fr.
sacer
sacred, holy, cursed. Cf.
Consecrate
,
Execrate
,
Saint
,
Sexton
.]
1.
Set apart by solemn religious ceremony; especially, in a good sense, made holy; set apart to religious use; consecrated; not profane or common;
as, a
sacred
place; a
sacred
day;
sacred
service
.
2.
Relating to religion, or to the services of religion; not secular; religious;
as,
sacred
history
.
Smit with the love of
sacred
song.
Milton.
3.
Designated or exalted by a divine sanction; possessing the highest title to obedience, honor, reverence, or veneration; entitled to extreme reverence; venerable.
Such neighbor nearness to our
sacred
[royal] blood
Should nothing privilege him.
Shakespeare
Poet and saint to thee alone were given,
The two most
sacred
names of earth and heaven.
Cowley.
4.
Hence, not to be profaned or violated; inviolable.
Secrets of marriage still are
sacred
held.
Dryden.
5.
Consecrated; dedicated; devoted; – with to.
A temple,
sacred
to the queen of love.
Dryden.
6.
Solemnly devoted, in a bad sense, as to evil, vengeance, curse, or the like; accursed; baleful.
[Archaic]
But, to destruction
sacred
and devote.
Milton.
Society of the Sacred Heart
(R.C. Ch.)
,
a religious order of women, founded in France in 1800, and approved in 1826. It was introduced into America in 1817. The members of the order devote themselves to the higher branches of female education.
–
Sacred baboon
.
(Zool.)
See
Hamadryas
.
–
Sacred bean
(Bot.)
,
a seed of the Oriental lotus (
Nelumbo speciosa
or
Nelumbium speciosum
), a plant resembling a water lily; also, the plant itself. See
Lotus
.
–
Sacred beetle
(Zool.)
See
Scarab
.
–
Sacred canon
.
See
Canon
,
Noun.
, 3.
–
Sacred fish
(Zool.)
,
any one of numerous species of fresh-water African fishes of the family
Mormyridae
. Several large species inhabit the Nile and were considered sacred by the ancient Egyptians; especially
Mormyrus oxyrhynchus
.
–
Sacred ibis
.
See
Ibis
.
–
Sacred monkey
.
(Zool.)
(a)
Any Asiatic monkey of the genus
Semnopithecus
, regarded as sacred by the Hindoos; especially, the entellus. See
Entellus
.
(b)
The sacred baboon.
See
Hamadryas
.
(c)
The bhunder, or rhesus monkey.
–
Sacred place
(Civil Law)
,
the place where a deceased person is buried.
Syn. – Holy; divine; hallowed; consecrated; dedicated; devoted; religious; venerable; reverend.
–
Sa′cred-ly
(#)
,
adv.
–
Sa′cred-ness
,
Noun.

Webster 1828 Edition

Sacred

SA'CRED

,
Adj.
[L. sacer, sacred, holy, cursed, damnable. We here see the connection between sacredness and secrecy. The sense is removed or separated from that which is common, vulgar, polluted, or open, public; and accursed is separated from society or the privileges of citizens, rejected, banished.]
1.
Holy; pertaining to God or to his worship; separated from common secular uses and consecrated to God and his service; as a sacred place; a sacred day; a sacred feast; sacred service; sacred orders.
2.
Proceeding from God and containing religious precepts; as the sacred books of the Old and New Testament.
3.
Narrating or writing facts respecting God and holy things; as a sacred historian.
4.
Relating to religion or the worship of God; used for religious purposes; as sacred songs; sacred music; sacred history.
5.
Consecrated; dedicated; devoted; with to.
A temple sacred to the queen of love.
6.
Entitled to reverence; venerable.
Poet and saint to thee alone were given, the two most sacred names of earth and heav'n.
7.
Inviolable, as if appropriated to a superior being; as sacred honor or promise.
Secrets of marriage still are sacred held.
Sacred majesty. In this title, sacred has no definite meaning, or it is blasphemy.
Sacred place, in the civil law, is that where a deceased person is buried.

Definition 2024

sacred

sacred

English

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈseɪkrɪd/

Adjective

sacred ‎(comparative more sacred or sacreder, superlative most sacred or sacredest)

  1. Set apart by solemn religious ceremony; especially, in a good sense, made holy; set apart to religious use; consecrated; not profane or common; as, a sacred place; a sacred day; sacred service.
  2. Relating to religion, or to the services of religion; not secular; religious; as, sacred history.
    Smit with the love of sacred song. -John Milton.
  3. Designated or exalted by a divine sanction; possessing the highest title to obedience, honor, reverence, or veneration; entitled to extreme reverence; venerable.
    Such neighbor nearness to our sacred [royal] blood Should nothing privilege him. William Shakespeare
    Poet and saint to thee alone were given, The two most sacred names of earth and heaven. -Cowley.
  4. Hence, not to be profaned or violated; inviolable.
    Secrets of marriage still are sacred held. -Dryden.
  5. Consecrated; dedicated; devoted; -- with to.
    A temple, sacred to the queen of love. -Dryden.
  6. (archaic) Solemnly devoted, in a bad sense, as to evil, vengeance, curse, or the like; accursed; baleful.
    But, to destruction sacred and devote. -Milton.
Derived terms
Related terms
Synonyms
Antonyms
Translations

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈseɪkəd/

Verb

sacred

  1. simple past tense and past participle of sacre

Anagrams

Etymology

From Middle English sacred, isacred, past participle of Middle English 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 *sh₂kros ‎(“sacred”), from *seh₂k-, *sak- ‎(“to sanctify, to make a treaty”).

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