sacrilege
UK /ˈsækɹɪlɪd͡ʒ/ · US /ˈsækɹəlɪd͡ʒ/ noun
Forms sacrileges sacriledge
- noun Desecration, profanation, misuse or violation of something regarded as sacred.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Etymology
Circa 1300, original sense “stealing something sacred”. From Middle English sacrilege, from Old French sacrilege, from Latin sacrilegium, from sacrilegus (“sacrilegious”). Sense of “profanation” from late 14th century.
Webster’s 1913
- noun The sin or crime of violating or profaning sacred things; the alienating to laymen, or to common purposes, what has been appropriated or consecrated to religious persons or uses.
Etymology [F. sacrilège, L. sacrilegium, from sacrilegus that steals, properly, gathers or picks up, sacred things; sacer sacred + legere to gather, pick up. See Sacred, and Legend.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “sacrilege”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details