Ciborium

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /sɪˈbɔəɹɪəm/

Definitions

1. A decorative vessel commonly utilized in religious practices to contain and preserve sacred elements during rituals
2. An ornate container typically found in ecclesiastical settings for holding the Eucharist and other holy items
3. A sacred vessel used in worship services for storing consecrated bread or wine ; a canopy structure that stands above an altar in a church setting

Etymology: The most striking thing about this word is how literally it began: in ancient Greek, "kibṓrion" named the cupped seed pod of the Egyptian water-lily, and only later came to mean a drinking-cup made from that pod. The Greek word then passed into Medieval Latin as "cibōrium," still meaning a drinking-cup, before English borrowed it for a vessel of a very different kind. Over the centuries the sense shifted from a humble cup to a sacred one. In church use the name came to denote the vessel that holds consecrated bread, the Eucharistic host, typically a covered goblet or small chalice-like container. The word's shape is still visible in its doublet "cimborio," a relative that descends from the same Medieval Latin source and has a related but separate history in Spanish.

Synonyms: chalice, bowl, vessel, container, cup