Sacralize

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To imbue something with religious significance or to treat it as holy and deserving of reverence
2. To invest an ordinary object or concept with religious meaning and ceremonial importance
3. To render something sacred by attributing divine significance or treating it with ritualistic reverence

Etymology: "Sacralize" is a plain formation: the adjective "sacral" (relating to sacred rites) with the verb-forming suffix "-ize." That suffix has a long pedigree of its own. It began in ancient Greek as "-izein," a verb ending used to build new verbs from nouns and adjectives, which Late Latin took up as "-izare" and which passed into Middle French and then Middle English as "-isen." Modern English spells it "-ize," and by adding it to "sacral," speakers produced a verb meaning to make something sacred. The word "sacral" itself is the older half of the pair, coming from the same Latin source as "sacred" but reshaped by its own path into English. Put the two together and "sacralize" is a formation built from an adjective and an ancient verb ending, which is why it sounds at once technical and slightly grand.

Synonyms: sanctify, consecrate

Antonyms: desecrate, profane