Sacralization

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /seɪkɹəlʌɪˈzeɪʃ(ə)n/

Definitions

1. the transformation of the secular into the divine or spiritually meaningful
2. a social or cultural process whereby profane objects, practices, or institutions become treated as sacred or holy through collective recognition
3. An act or process that makes something regarded as holy or sacred ; a cultural or communal event in which ordinary things are elevated to sacred status through widespread acceptance

Etymology: "Sacralization" is a plain formation: the noun "sacralize" with the suffix "-ation" added. The verb "sacralize" is itself built on the adjective "sacral," which comes from Latin "sacer," meaning holy or set apart for the gods, joined to the verb-forming ending "-ize," which passed into English through Middle French and Late Latin from Ancient Greek "-izein." The noun ending "-ation" carries the sense of an action or process, so the whole word names the act of making something holy or treating it as sacred. The suffix "-ation" reached English through Old French from Latin "-ātiō," and it is attached to many verbs in English, which is why new coinages like this one are so easy to form. The term is a straightforward English compound of established parts rather than a word borrowed whole from another language, so its meaning stays close to the sum of its pieces.