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sacrament - 6 dictionary results

sac⋅ra⋅ment

  [sak-ruh-muhnt]
Use sacrament in a Sentence
–noun
1. Ecclesiastical. a visible sign of an inward grace, esp. one of the solemn Christian rites considered to have been instituted by Jesus Christ to symbolize or confer grace: the sacraments of the Protestant churches are baptism and the Lord's Supper; the sacraments of the Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches are baptism, confirmation, the Eucharist, matrimony, penance, holy orders, and extreme unction.
2. (often initial capital letter) Also called Holy Sacrament. the Eucharist or Lord's Supper.
3. the consecrated elements of the Eucharist, esp. the bread.
4. something regarded as possessing a sacred character or mysterious significance.
5. a sign, token, or symbol.
6. an oath; solemn pledge.
Origin:
1150–1200; ME < ML sacrāmentum obligation, oath, LL: mystery, rite, equiv. to L sacrā(re) to devote + -mentum -ment
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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sac·ra·ment   (sāk'rə-mənt)   
n.  
  1. Christianity A rite believed to be a means of or visible form of grace, especially:
    1. In the Eastern, Roman Catholic, and some other Western Christian churches, any of the traditional seven rites that were instituted by Jesus and recorded in the New Testament and that confer sanctifying grace.
    2. In most other Western Christian churches, the two rites, Baptism and the Eucharist, that were instituted by Jesus to confer sanctifying grace.
    3. The Eucharist.
    4. The consecrated elements of the Eucharist, especially the bread or host.
  2. A religious rite similar to a Christian sacrament, as in character or meaning.
  3. often Sacrament
    1. The Eucharist.
    2. The consecrated elements of the Eucharist, especially the bread or host.

[Middle English, from Old French sacrement, from Late Latin sacrāmentum, from Latin, oath, from sacrāre, to consecrate, from sacer, sacr-, sacred; see sacred.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Sacrament

Sac"ra*ment\, n. [L. sacramentum an oath, a sacred thing, a mystery, a sacrament, fr. sacrare to declare as sacred, sacer sacred: cf. F. sacrement. See Sacred.]

1. The oath of allegiance taken by Roman soldiers; hence, a sacred ceremony used to impress an obligation; a solemn oath-taking; an oath. [Obs.]

I'll take the sacrament on't. --Shak.

2. The pledge or token of an oath or solemn covenant; a sacred thing; a mystery. [Obs.]

God sometimes sent a light of fire, and pillar of a cloud . . . and the sacrament of a rainbow, to guide his people through their portion of sorrows. --Jer. Taylor.

3. (Theol.) One of the solemn religious ordinances enjoined by Christ, the head of the Christian church, to be observed by his followers; hence, specifically, the eucharist; the Lord's Supper.

Syn: Sacrament, Eucharist.

Usage: Protestants apply the term sacrament to baptism and the Lord's Supper, especially the latter. The R. Cath. and Greek churches have five other sacraments, viz., confirmation, penance, holy orders, matrimony, and extreme unction. As sacrament denotes an oath or vow, the word has been applied by way of emphasis to the Lord's Supper, where the most sacred vows are renewed by the Christian in commemorating the death of his Redeemer. Eucharist denotes the giving of thanks; and this term also has been applied to the same ordinance, as expressing the grateful remembrance of Christ's sufferings and death. "Some receive the sacrament as a means to procure great graces and blessings; others as an eucharist and an office of thanksgiving for what they have received." --Jer. Taylor.

Sacrament

Sac"ra*ment\, v. t. To bind by an oath. [Obs.] --Laud.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : sacrament
Spanish: sacramento,
German: das Sakrament,
Japanese: 聖礼典
More Translations »

sacrament

A religious ceremony or rite. Most Christian churches reserve the term for those rites that Jesus himself instituted, but there are disagreements between them on which rites those are. The Lutheran Church, for example, maintains that baptism and Communion are the only sacraments, whereas in the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church, there are five more: confirmation; confession; anointing of the sick; the ordination of clergy; and the marriage of Christians.

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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sacrament 
c.1175, from O.Fr. sacrament (12c.), from L. sacramentum "a consecrating," from sacrare "to consecrate" (see sacred); a Church Latin loan-translation of Gk. mysterion "mystery."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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