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sacrament

 - 4 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.
Cite This Source
Cultural Dictionary

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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Word Origin & History

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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