Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- transitive verb To declare or set apart as sacred.
- transitive verb To sanctify (bread and wine) for Eucharistic use through a ritual regarded by some Christian churches as effecting transubstantiation.
- transitive verb To initiate (a priest) into the order of bishops.
- transitive verb To dedicate solemnly to a service or goal. synonym: devote.
- transitive verb To make venerable; hallow.
- adjective Dedicated to a sacred purpose; sanctified.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Sacred; consecrated; devoted; dedicated.
- To make or declare sacred with certain ceremonies or rites; appropriate to sacred uses or employments; set apart, dedicate, or devote to the service of the Deity: as, to
consecrate a church; to consecrate the eucharistic elements. Seeconsecration , 1. - Specifically, in the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches, to initiate solemnly into the order of bishops, as a priest. See
consecration , . To devote or dedicate from profound feeling or a religious motive: as, his life was consecrated to the service of the poor. - To make revered or worshiped, or highly regarded; hallow: as, a custom consecrated by time.
- To place among the gods; apotheosize.
- To enroll among the saints; canonize.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Consecrated; devoted; dedicated; sacred.
- transitive verb To make, or declare to be, sacred; to appropriate to sacred uses; to set apart, dedicate, or devote, to the service or worship of God.
- transitive verb To set apart to a sacred office.
- transitive verb To canonize; to exalt to the rank of a saint; to enroll among the gods, as a Roman emperor.
- transitive verb To render venerable or revered; to hallow; to dignify.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb To declare, or otherwise make something
holy .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb appoint to a clerical posts
- verb dedicate to a deity by a vow
- verb give entirely to a specific person, activity, or cause
- adjective solemnly dedicated to or set apart for a high purpose
- verb render holy by means of religious rites
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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Etymology: de - + - secrate (as in consecrate) to violate the sanctity of
Long may it burn David 2005
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Those who adopt the calling consecrate themselves to it by some religious ceremony, and ever after are connected with the temples.
Due West or Round the World in Ten Months Maturin Murray Ballou 1857
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We all know that to consecrate is to set apart for holy service.
Gathering Jewels The Secret of a Beautiful Life: In Memoriam of Mr. & Mrs. James Knowles. Selected from Their Diaries. James Sheridan Knowles 1823
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Having said that, should such individuals choose to have a minister, imam, priest, rabbi, shaman or wiccan "consecrate" the affair - after the fact that's their own business.
Michael B. Laskoff: Death to Family Values - Zippers at Half Mast 2009
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Heck, we were warned before our wedding vows that the word is "consecrate", not "constipate".
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Oh! -- to the really 'consecrate' in heart and thought I could give my life so easily, so slavishly even!
Marcella Humphry Ward 1885
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He remarks that the Hebrew verb to ban is sometimes rendered "consecrate": Micah iv.
The Religious Experience of the Roman People From the Earliest Times to the Age of Augustus W. Warde Fowler 1884
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"A night of memories and sighs" he might "consecrate" to his lost lady love, as Landor did to Rose Aylmer.
The Puzzle of Dickens's Last Plot Andrew Lang 1878
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The only difference between the application of the same term to Christ and the disciples is, as applied to Christ, that it means only to "consecrate"; whereas, in application to the disciples, it means to consecrate with the additional idea of previous sanctification, since nothing but what is holy can be presented as an offering.
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The root word would be 'consecrate' and you put before and after that word a lot of additions, creating this complex meaning.
The Wire 2009
gcastro commented on the word consecrate
being holy with God
October 1, 2010