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sacred - 7 dictionary results

sa⋅cred

[sey-krid]

Use sacred in a Sentence

–adjective

1.	devoted or dedicated to a deity or to some religious purpose; consecrated.

2.	entitled to veneration or religious respect by association with divinity or divine things; holy.

3.	pertaining to or connected with religion (opposed to secular or profane ): sacred music; sacred books.

4.	reverently dedicated to some person, purpose, or object: a morning hour sacred to study.

5.	regarded with reverence: the sacred memory of a dead hero.

6.	secured against violation, infringement, etc., as by reverence or sense of right: sacred oaths; sacred rights.

7.	properly immune from violence, interference, etc., as a person or office.

Origin:
1275–1325; ME, orig. ptp. of sacren to consecrate < L sacrāre to devote, deriv. of sacer holy; see -ed ²

Related forms:

sa⋅cred⋅ly, adverb

sa⋅cred⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
2. venerable, divine. See holy. 4. consecrated. 5. revered. 6. sacrosanct. 7. inviolate, inviolable.

Antonyms:
2. blasphemous.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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sa·cred (sā'krĭd)

adj.

Dedicated to or set apart for the worship of a deity.
Worthy of religious veneration: the sacred teachings of the Buddha.
Made or declared holy: sacred bread and wine.
Dedicated or devoted exclusively to a single use, purpose, or person: sacred to the memory of her sister; a private office sacred to the President.
Worthy of respect; venerable.
Of or relating to religious objects, rites, or practices.

[Middle English, past participle of sacren, to consecrate, from Old French sacrer, from Latin sacrāre, from sacer, sacr-, sacred; see sak- in Indo-European roots.]
sa'cred·ly adv., sa'cred·ness n.

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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Sacred

Sa"cred\, a. [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. --Shak.

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. (Zo["o]l.) 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 (Zo["o]l.) See Scarab.

Sacred canon. See Canon, n., 3.

Sacred fish (Zo["o]l.), any one of numerous species of fresh-water African fishes of the family Mormyrid[ae]. Several large species inhabit the Nile and were considered sacred by the ancient Egyptians; especially Mormyrus oxyrhynchus.

Sacred ibis. See Ibis.

Sacred monkey. (Zo["o]l.) (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, n.

Language Translation for : sacred

Spanish: sagrado,

German: heilig,

Japanese: 神聖な

More Translations »

sacred

adj. Reserved for the exclusive use of something (an extension of the standard meaning). Often means that anyone may look at the sacred object, but clobbering it will screw whatever it is sacred to. The comment "Register 7 is sacred to the interrupt handler" appearing in a program would be interpreted by a hacker to mean that if any _other_ part of the program changes the contents of register 7, dire consequences are likely to ensue.

Jargon File 4.2.0
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sacred

c.1300, from pp. of obs. verb sacren "to make holy" (c.1225), from O.Fr. sacrer (12c.), from L. sacrare "to make sacred, consecrate," from sacer (gen. sacri) "sacred, dedicated, holy, accursed," from O.L. saceres, which Tucker connects to base *saq- "bind, restrict, enclose, protect," explaining that "words for both 'oath' & 'curse' are regularly words of 'binding.' " But Buck merely groups it with Oscan sakrim, Umbrian sacra and calls it "a distinctive Italic group, without any clear outside connections." Nasalized form is sancire "make sacred, confirm, ratify, ordain." Sacred cow "object of Hindu veneration," is from 1891; fig. sense is first recorded 1910, from Western views of Hinduism.

sacred jargon
Reserved for exclusive use by something. The term might mean only writable by whatever it is sacred to.
For example, "Register 7 is sacred to the interrupt handler" would mean that if any other code changed the contents of register 7, dire consequences would ensue.
[The Jargon File]
(2002-12-30)

sacred

the power, being, or realm understood by religious persons to be at the core of existence and to have a transformative effect on their lives and destinies. Other terms, such as holy, divine, transcendent, ultimate being (or reality), mystery, and perfection (or purity) have been used for this domain. "Sacred" is also an important technical term in the scholarly study and interpretation of religions

Learn more about sacred with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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