sanctuary
English
editEtymology
editFrom Middle English seyntuarie, from Old French saintuaire, from Late Latin sanctuarium (“a sacred place, a shrine, a private cabinet, in Medieval Latin also temple, church, churchyard, cemetery, right of asylum”), from Latin sanctus (“holy, sacred”); see saint.
Pronunciation
edit- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈsæŋktjʊəɹi/, /ˈsæŋkt͡ʃʊəɹi/
Audio (Southern England): (file) - (General American) IPA(key): /ˈsæŋkt͡ʃuˌɛɹi/
- Hyphenation: sanc‧tu‧ary
Noun
editsanctuary (countable and uncountable, plural sanctuaries)
- A place of safety, refuge, or protection.
- My car is a sanctuary, where none can disturb me except for people who cut me off.
- 1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “The Last Night with the Dead”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 315:
- She saw him, even as she had last gazed upon him, pale, cold, and awful; but still he was there. The coffin was to her like a shrine; all that she held most dear and most precious was within its dark and silent sanctuary.
- 1963, Margery Allingham, “Foreword”, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
- ‘I understand that the district was considered a sort of sanctuary,’ the Chief was saying. ‘An Alsatia like the ancient one behind the Strand, or the Saffron Hill before the First World War. […]’
- An area set aside for protection.
- The bird sanctuary has strict restrictions on visitors so the birds aren't disturbed.
- A state of being protected, asylum.
- The government granted sanctuary to the defector, protecting him from his former government.
- The consecrated (or sacred) area of a church or temple around its tabernacle or altar.
Synonyms
editSynonyms of sanctuary
Hyponyms
editDerived terms
editTranslations
editplace of safety or protection
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area set aside for protection
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state of being protected
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consecrated area
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Further reading
edit- “sanctuary”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “sanctuary”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
- sanctuary on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
Categories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Old French
- English terms derived from Late Latin
- English terms derived from Medieval Latin
- English terms derived from Latin
- English 3-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- English 4-syllable words
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with usage examples
- English terms with quotations
- en:Places of worship