altar

[ awl-ter ]
See synonyms for altar on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. an elevated place or structure, as a mound or platform at which religious rites are performed or on which sacrifices are offered to gods, ancestors, etc.

  2. Ecclesiastical. communion table.

  1. Altar, Astronomy. the constellation Ara.

  2. (in a dry dock) a ledge for supporting the feet of shorings.

Idioms about altar

  1. lead to the altar, to marry: After a five-year courtship, he led her to the altar.

Origin of altar

1
First recorded before 1000; Middle English alter, altar, auter, Old English altar, altare, alter; (compare Middle Dutch outaer, Old Saxon, Old Norse altari, Old High German altāri ), from Latin altāria (the more frequently used plural of altāre used in a singular sense), of disputed origin and formation, but probably akin to Latin adolēre “to make a burnt offering, cremate,” Umbrian uřetu “let it burn, set incense on the fire”

Words that may be confused with altar

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Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use altar in a sentence

  • Ramona had covered the box with white cloth, and the lace altar-cloth thrown over it fell in folds to the floor.

    Ramona | Helen Hunt Jackson
  • After a few seconds Ramona rose, went into the house, brought out the white altar-cloth, and laid it over the mutilated face.

    Ramona | Helen Hunt Jackson
  • And one of the seraphims flew to me, and in his hand was a live coal, which he had taken with the tongs off the altar.

  • In return, each of the priests placed an image of Buddha on a tree-root, turning it into an altar.

    Our Little Korean Cousin | H. Lee M. Pike
  • Inside its darkened walls a single monk chanted his monotonous prayer before an altar.

    Our Little Korean Cousin | H. Lee M. Pike

British Dictionary definitions for altar

altar

/ (ˈɔːltə) /


noun
  1. a raised place or structure where sacrifices are offered and religious rites performed

  2. (in Christian churches) the communion table

  1. a step in the wall of a dry dock upon which structures supporting a vessel can stand

  2. lead to the altar informal to marry

Origin of altar

1
Old English, from Latin altāria (plural) altar, from altus high

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012