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sacrilege

 - 4 dictionary results

sac⋅ri⋅lege

  [sak-ruh-lij]
Use sacrilege in a Sentence
–noun
1. the violation or profanation of anything sacred or held sacred.
2. an instance of this.
3. the stealing of anything consecrated to the service of God.
Origin:
1275–1325; ME < OF < L sacrilegium, equiv. to sacri- (comb. form of sacrum holy place) + leg(ere) to steal, lit., gather + -ium -ium
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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sac·ri·lege   (sāk'rə-lĭj)   
n.  Desecration, profanation, misuse, or theft of something sacred.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin sacrilegium, from sacrilegus, one who steals sacred things : sacer, sacred; see sacred + legere, to gather; see leg- in Indo-European roots.]
sac'ri·le'gist (sāk'rə-lē'jĭst) 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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Word Origin & History

sacrilege 
c.1303, "crime of stealing what is consecrated to God," from O.Fr. sacrilege (12c.), from L. sacrilegium "temple robbery," from sacrilegus "stealer of sacred things," from phrase sacrum legere "to steal sacred things," from sacrum "sacred object (from neuter sing. of sacer "sacred") + legere "take, pick up" (see lecture). Second element is related to lecture, but is not from religion. Transf. sense of "profanation of anything held sacred" is attested from 1390. Sacrilegious is from 1582.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Encyclopedia

sacrilege

originally, the theft of something sacred; as early as the 1st century BC, however, the Latin term for sacrilege came to mean any injury, violation, or profanation of sacred things. Legal punishment for such acts was already sanctioned, in the Levitical code of ancient Israel. The Israelites had extensive rules to safeguard what was holy or consecrated, violation of which (especially of temple laws) often led to mob violence.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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