sacrament en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (Southern-England) audio
- /ˈsækɹəmənt/
Etymology
From Middle English sacrament, from Old French sacrement, from Ecclesiastical Latin sacrāmentum (“sacrament”), from Latin sacrō (“hallow, consecrate”), from sacer (“sacred, holy”), originally sum deposited by parties to a suit.
Meanings
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A sacred act and the attendant ceremony, considered (theology) an outward sign of divine grace, instituted by Jesus Christ.
Priest: I'm sorry, it's Duncan Dirk Dick. I've just done it. / Father: Well, undo it. / Priest: Undo it? / Father: Yes. / Priest: This is a holy sacrament of the Church, not a bleeding hotel reservation. You can't just undo it.
1989 February 10, Stephen Fry et al., “Christening”, in A Bit of Fry and Laurie, season 1, episode 5:
- (in particular) The Eucharist.
- The consecrated Eucharist (especially the bread).
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(broadly) Anything regarded as possessing a sacred character or mysterious significance.
God ſometimes ſent a light of fire, and pillar of a cloud, and the brightneſſe of an Angel, and the luſtre of a ſtar, and the ſacrament of a rainbovve to guide his people thorovv their portion of ſorrovvs, and to lead them through troubles to reſt: […]
1651, Jer[emy] Taylor, “[XXVIII Sermons Preached at Golden Grove; Being for the Summer Half-year, […].] Sermon IX. The Faith and Patience of the Saints: Or The Righteous Cause Oppressed.”, in ΕΝΙΑΥΤΟΣ [Eniautos]. A Course of Sermons for All the Sundays of the Year. […], 2nd edition, London: […] Richard Royston […], published 1654, →OCLC, page 105:The dots are easy to connect, because they’re so close together, and because they’re the entry and exit wounds inflicted on US society by the subculture whose sacrament is the gun.
2022 May 30, Rebecca Solnit, “US mass shootings will continue until the majority can overrule the minority”, in The Guardian:
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(Ancient-Rome) The oath of allegiance taken by soldiers in Ancient Rome; hence, any sacred ceremony used to impress an obligation; a solemn oath-taking; an oath.
I'll take the sacrament on 't.
c. 1604–1605 (date written), William Shakespeare, “All’s Well, that Ends Well”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iii]:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| sacraments | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Coordinates
Deriveds
sacramental · sacramentally · sacramentize · sacramentality · sacrament of reconciliation · sacramentarian · sacramentism
Descendants
hākarameta · サクラメント · sakramen · sakramenti
Translations (55)
nds Sakrament (sacred act or ceremony) · cmn 聖事 /圣事 (sacred act or ceremony) · sh sakràment (sacred act or ceremony) · ru сакрамент (sacred act or ceremony) · nl sacrament (sacred act or ceremony) · tl sakramento (sacred act or ceremony) · et sakrament (sacred act or ceremony) · fur sacrament (sacred act or ceremony) · co sacramentu (sacred act or ceremony) · sh сакра̀мент (sacred act or ceremony) · pdt Sakrament (sacred act or ceremony) · et salasus (sacred act or ceremony) · el μυστήριο (sacred act or ceremony) · pl sakrament (sacred act or ceremony) · cmn 聖禮 /圣礼 (sacred act or ceremony) · ru та́инство (sacred act or ceremony) · da sakramente (sacred act or ceremony) · ka ზიარება (sacred act or ceremony) · pt sacramento (sacred act or ceremony) · eo sakramento (sacred act or ceremony) · gl sacramento (sacred act or ceremony) · fr sacrement (sacred act or ceremony) · nds Sakramänte (sacred act or ceremony) · hu szentség (sacred act or ceremony) · nn sakrament (sacred act or ceremony) · sq mister (sacred act or ceremony) · ro sacrament (sacred act or ceremony) · it sacramento (sacred act or ceremony) · hy խորհուրդ (sacred act or ceremony) · vi bí tích (sacred act or ceremony) · la sacrāmentum (sacred act or ceremony) · ja サクラメント (sacred act or ceremony) · ia sacramento (sacred act or ceremony) · cs svátost (sacred act or ceremony) · bg тайнство (sacred act or ceremony) · nds Sakramänt (sacred act or ceremony) · tl galimbanal (sacred act or ceremony) · id sakramen (sacred act or ceremony) · nrf sacrément (sacred act or ceremony) · es sacramento (sacred act or ceremony) · ja 秘跡 (sacred act or ceremony) · ar سِرّ (sacred act or ceremony) · tr kutsantı (sacred act or ceremony) · nb sakrament (sacred act or ceremony) · sw sakramenti (sacred act or ceremony) · mi hākarameta (sacred act or ceremony) · ko 성사 (sacred act or ceremony) · sq sakrament (sacred act or ceremony) · sv sakrament (sacred act or ceremony) · chk sakramen (sacred act or ceremony) · fi sakramentti (sacred act or ceremony) · ca sagrament (sacred act or ceremony) · de Sakrament (sacred act or ceremony) · mk све́та та́јна (sacred act or ceremony) · io sakramento (sacred act or ceremony)