Saint definition | Dictionary.com

saint

[seynt]

–noun

1.	any of certain persons of exceptional holiness of life, formally recognized as such by the Christian Church, esp. by canonization.

2.	a person of great holiness, virtue, or benevolence.

3.	a founder, sponsor, or patron, as of a movement or organization.

4.	(in certain religious groups) a designation applied by the members to themselves.

–verb (used with object)

5.	to enroll formally among the saints recognized by the Church.

6.	to give the name of saint to; reckon as a saint.

Origin:
bef. 1000; ME (n. and v.) < OF (n.) < L sānctus sacred, adj. use of ptp. of sancīre to consecrate, equiv. to sanc- (akin to sacer sacred ) + -tus ptp. suffix; r. OE sanct < L, as above

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Language Translation for : Saint

Spanish:

santo, santa,

German:

der, *die Heilige,

Japanese:

聖人

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Saint

For entries beginning with this word, see also St., Ste.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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St.

Saint.

2.	statute; statutes.

Strait.

Street.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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Giles

[jahylz]

–noun

1.	Saint, 8th century a.d., Athenian hermit in France.

2.	a male given name: from a Greek word meaning “shieldbearer.”

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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Leo III

–noun

1.	Saint, a.d. c750–816, Italian ecclesiastic: pope 795–816.

2.	(“the Isaurian”), a.d. c680–741, Eastern Roman emperor 717–741.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
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saint (sānt) Pronunciation Key
n.

1. Abbr. St. or S. Christianity A person officially recognized, especially by canonization, as being entitled to public veneration and capable of interceding for people on earth.
2. A person who has died and gone to heaven.
3. Saint A member of any of various religious groups, especially a Latter-Day Saint.
An extremely virtuous person.

tr.v. saint·ed, saint·ing, saints
To name, recognize, or venerate as a saint; canonize.

[Middle English seint, from Old French saint, from Late Latin sānctus, from Latin, holy, past participle of sancīre, to consecrate; see sak- in Indo-European roots.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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saint

c.1125, from O.Fr. seinte, altering O.E. sanct, both from L. sanctus "holy, consecrated" (used as a noun in L.L.), prop. pp. of sancire "consecrate" (see sacred). Adopted into most Gmc. languages (cf. O.Fris. sankt, Du. sint, Ger. Sanct). Originally an adj. prefixed to the name of a canonized person; by c.1300 it came to be regarded as a noun.

"Saint - A dead sinner revised and edited. The Duchess of Orleans relates that the irreverent old calumniator, Marshal Villeroi, who in his youth had known St. Francis de Sales, said, on hearing him called saint: 'I am delighted to hear that Monsieur de Sales is a saint. He was fond of saying indelicate things, and used to cheat at cards. In other respects he was a perfect gentleman, though a fool.' " [Ambrose Bierce]

Meaning "person of extraordinary holiness" is recorded from 1563. The verb meaning "to enroll (someone) among the saints" is attested from 1375. Applied widely to living things, diseases, objects and phenomena, e.g. Saint Bernard, the breed of mastiff dogs (1839), so called because they were used by the monks of the hospice of the pass of St. Bernard (between Italy and Switzerland) to rescue snowbound travelers; St. Elmo's Fire "corposant" (1561) is from It. fuoco di Sant'Elmo, named for the patron saint of Mediterranean sailors, a corruption of the name of St. Erasmus, an Italian bishop martyred in 303.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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saint
noun
1.	a person who has died and has been declared a saint by canonization
2.	person of exceptional holiness
3.	model of excellence or perfection of a kind; one having no equal [syn: ideal]
verb
1.	hold sacred [syn: enshrine]
2.	declare (a dead person) to be a saint; "After he was shown to have performed a miracle, the priest was canonized" [syn: canonize]

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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saint

In Christianity, a holy person, living or dead; a person who has been saved (see salvation). Saint is the French word for “holy.” Many churches reserve the title of saint for persons who have died faithful to their Christian commitment. The Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church require certain procedures before people can be officially named saints; this procedure is called canonization.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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SAINT
1. Symbolic Automatic INTegrator.
2. Security Administrator's Integrated Network Tool.

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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Saint

Saint\ (s[=a]nt), n. [F., fr. L. sanctus sacred, properly p. p. of sancire to render sacred by a religious act, to appoint as sacred; akin to sacer sacred. Cf. Sacred, Sanctity, Sanctum, Sanctus.]

1. A person sanctified; a holy or godly person; one eminent for piety and virtue; any true Christian, as being redeemed and consecrated to God.

Them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints. --1 Cor. i. 2.

2. One of the blessed in heaven.

Then shall thy saints, unmixed, and from the impure Far separate, circling thy holy mount, Unfeigned hallelujahs to thee sing. --Milton.

3. (Eccl.) One canonized by the church. [Abbrev. St.]

Saint Andrew's cross. (a) A cross shaped like the letter X. See Illust. 4, under Cross. (b) (Bot.) A low North American shrub (Ascyrum Crux-Andre[ae], the petals of which have the form of a Saint Andrew's cross. --Gray.

Saint Anthony's cross, a T-shaped cross. See Illust. 6, under Cross.

Saint Anthony's fire, the erysipelas; -- popularly so called because it was supposed to have been cured by the intercession of Saint Anthony.

Saint Anthony's nut (Bot.), the groundnut (Bunium flexuosum); -- so called because swine feed on it, and St. Anthony was once a swineherd. --Dr. Prior.

Saint Anthony's turnip (Bot.), the bulbous crowfoot, a favorite food of swine. --Dr. Prior.

Saint Barnaby's thistle (Bot.), a kind of knapweed (Centaurea solstitialis) flowering on St. Barnabas's Day, June 11th. --Dr. Prior.

Saint Bernard (Zo["o]l.), a breed of large, handsome dogs celebrated for strength and sagacity, formerly bred chiefly at the Hospice of St. Bernard in Switzerland, but now common in Europe and America. There are two races, the smooth-haired and the rough-haired. See Illust. under Dog.

Saint Catharine's flower (Bot.), the plant love-in-a-mist. See under Love.

Saint Cuthbert's beads (Paleon.), the fossil joints of crinoid stems.

Saint Dabeoc's heath (Bot.), a heatherlike plant (Dab[oe]cia polifolia), named from an Irish saint.

Saint Distaff's Day. See under Distaff.

Saint Elmo's fire, a luminous, flamelike appearance, sometimes seen in dark, tempestuous nights, at some prominent point on a ship, particularly at the masthead and the yardarms. It has also been observed on land, and is due to the discharge of electricity from elevated or pointed objects. A single flame is called a Helena, or a Corposant; a double, or twin, flame is called a Castor and Pollux, or a double Corposant. It takes its name from St. Elmo, the patron saint of sailors.

Saint George's cross (Her.), a Greek cross gules upon a field argent, the field being represented by a narrow fimbriation in the ensign, or union jack, of Great Britain.

Saint George's ensign, a red cross on a white field with a union jack in the upper corner next the mast. It is the distinguishing badge of ships of the royal navy of England; -- called also the white ensign. --Brande & C.

Saint George's flag, a smaller flag resembling the ensign, but without the union jack; used as the sign of the presence and command of an admiral. [Eng.] --Brande & C.

Saint Gobain glass (Chem.), a fine variety of soda-lime plate glass, so called from St. Gobain in France, where it was manufactured.

Saint Ignatius's bean (Bot.), the seed of a tree of the Philippines (Strychnos Ignatia), of properties similar to the nux vomica.

Saint James's shell (Zo["o]l.), a pecten (Vola Jacob[ae]us) worn by pilgrims to the Holy Land. See Illust. under Scallop.

Saint James's-wort (Bot.), a kind of ragwort (Senecio Jacob[ae]a).

Saint John's bread. (Bot.) See Carob.

Saint John's-wort (Bot.), any plant of the genus Hypericum, most species of which have yellow flowers; -- called also John's-wort.

Saint Leger, the name of a race for three-year-old horses run annually in September at Doncaster, England; -- instituted in 1776 by Col. St. Leger.

Saint Martin's herb (Bot.), a small tropical American violaceous plant (Sauvagesia erecta). It is very mucilaginous and is used in medicine.

Saint Martin's summer, a season of mild, damp weather frequently prevailing during late autumn in England and the Mediterranean countries; -- so called from St. Martin's Festival, occurring on November 11. It corresponds to the Indian summer in America. --Shak. --Whittier.

Saint Patrick's cross. See Illust. 4, under Cross.

Saint Patrick's Day, the 17th of March, anniversary of the death (about 466) of St. Patrick, the apostle and patron saint of Ireland.

Saint Peter's fish. (Zo["o]l.) See John Dory, under John.

Saint Peter's-wort (Bot.), a name of several plants, as Hypericum Ascyron, H. quadrangulum, Ascyrum stans, etc.

Saint Peter's wreath (Bot.), a shrubby kind of Spir[ae]a (S. hypericifolia), having long slender branches covered with clusters of small white blossoms in spring.

Saint's bell. See Sanctus bell, under Sanctus.

Saint Vitus's dance (Med.), chorea; -- so called from the supposed cures wrought on intercession to this saint.

Saint

Saint\ (s[=a]nt), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Sainted; p. pr. & vb. n. Sainting.] To make a saint of; to enroll among the saints by an offical act, as of the pope; to canonize; to give the title or reputation of a saint to (some one).

A large hospital, erected by a shoemaker who has been beatified, though never sainted. --Addison.

To saint it, to act as a saint, or with a show of piety.

Whether the charmer sinner it or saint it. --Pope.

Saint

Saint\, v. i. To act or live as a saint. [R.] --Shak.

Saint

one separated from the world and consecrated to God; one holy by profession and by covenant; a believer in Christ (Ps. 16:3; Rom. 1:7; 8:27; Phil. 1:1; Heb. 6:10). The "saints" spoken of in Jude 1:14 are probably not the disciples of Christ, but the "innumerable company of angels" (Heb. 12:22; Ps. 68:17), with reference to Deut. 33:2. This word is also used of the holy dead (Matt. 27:52; Rev. 18:24). It was not used as a distinctive title of the apostles and evangelists and of a "spiritual nobility" till the fourth century. In that sense it is not a scriptural title.

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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