English▸ noun
1 a person acknowledged as holy or virtuous and typically regarded as being in heaven after death:
a place dedicated to a seventh-century saint
figures of apostles and saints.
▪ (in the Catholic and Orthodox Churches) a person formally recognized or canonized by the Church after death, who may be the object of veneration and prayers for intercession:
Innocent III stressed that only the Pope had the authority to declare a saint.
▪ (Saint) (abbreviation St. or S.) used in titles of religious saints:
the epistles of Saint Paul
St. John's Church.
▪ (Saint) a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; a Mormon:
Smith began to cast around for uninhabited territories where the Saints might build their Kingdom.
▪ (in or alluding to biblical use) a Christian believer:
the poor saints which are at Jerusalem.
▸ verb [with object] formally recognize as a saint; canonize:
the sandy shores of the River Nid, where Holy Olaf's bones were laid to rest before he had been sainted.
– ORIGIN Middle English , from Old French seint, from Latin sanctus ‘holy’, past participle of sancire ‘consecrate’.