shrine
/ʃɹaɪ̯n/ noun, verb
Forms shrines shrining shrined
- noun A holy or sacred place dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, or similar figure of awe and respect, at which said figure is venerated or worshipped.
- noun A case, box, or receptacle, especially one in which are deposited sacred relics, as the bones of a saint.
- noun (figuratively) A place or object hallowed from its history or associations. “a shrine of art”
- verb (transitive) To enshrine; to place reverently, as if in a shrine.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English shryne, from Old English scrīn (“reliquary, ark of the covenant”), from Medieval Latin scrīnium (“reliquary”), “case or chest for books or papers” in Classical Latin. Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to turn, bend”). Compare Old Norse skrín, Old High German skrīni (German Schrein).
Webster’s 1913
- noun A case, box, or receptacle, especially one in which are deposited sacred relics, as the bones of a saint.
- noun Any sacred place, as an altar, tromb, or the like.
- verb To enshrine; to place reverently, as in a shrine. "Shrined in his sanctuary." Milton.
Etymology [OE. schrin, AS. scrin, from L. scrinium a case, chest, box.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “shrine”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details