Shobdo Logo
ODE→sacrament

sacrament

Flag: gbEnglishOxford Dictionary of English
sacrament /ˈsakrəm(ə)nt /
▸ noun
1 (in the Christian Church) a religious ceremony or ritual regarded as imparting divine grace, such as baptism, the Eucharist and (in the Roman Catholic and many Orthodox Churches) penance and the anointing of the sick.
2 (also the Blessed Sacrament or Holy Sacrament) (in Roman Catholic use) the consecrated elements of the Eucharist, especially the bread or Host:
he heard Mass and received the sacrament.
3 a thing of mysterious and sacred significance; a religious symbol:
they used peyote as a sacrament.
– ORIGIN Middle English: from Old French sacrement, from Latin sacramentum ‘solemn oath’ (from sacrare ‘to hallow’, from sacer ‘sacred’), used in Christian Latin as a translation of Greek mustērion ‘mystery’.