Consecrate

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ˈkɒnsəkɹeɪt/

Definitions

1. To dedicate something solemnly to a sacred purpose or religious use through a formal ceremony
2. To sanctify an object or person by dedicating them to a divine purpose through a ceremonial process
3. To formally dedicate a person or object to a sacred function or divine service through a solemn process

Etymology: Latin "sacrare" meant "to make sacred," and it was built from "sacer," holy or set apart for the gods. The prefix "con-" intensifies the sense, so "consecrare" meant to make something thoroughly holy, to dedicate it fully to the divine. English borrowed the word through its past participle, "consecratus," and the Middle English verb "consecraten" appears in the late 14th century, used for dedicating altars and churches, ordaining bishops, and anointing kings and popes. The word also carried a religious sense of devoting a person to a sacred life. Medieval English writers used it in that narrower way before it broadened into the general sense of making something holy by formal act.

Synonyms: sanctify, bless

Antonyms: desecrate, profane