sacrament

American  

[sak-ruh-muhnt] / ˈsæk rə mənt /

noun

1. Ecclesiastical. a visible sign of an inward grace, especially one of the solemn Christian rites considered to have been instituted by Jesus Christ to symbolize or confer grace: the sacraments of the Protestant churches are baptism and the Lord's Supper; the sacraments of the Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches are baptism, confirmation, the Eucharist, matrimony, penance, holy orders, and extreme unction.

2. Also called Holy Sacrament.  (often initial capital letter) the Eucharist or Lord's Supper.

3. the consecrated elements of the Eucharist, especially the bread.

4. something regarded as possessing a sacred character or mysterious significance.

5. a sign, token, or symbol.

6. an oath; solemn pledge.

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sacrament British  

/ ˈsækrəmənt /

noun

1. an outward sign combined with a prescribed form of words and regarded as conferring some specific grace upon those who receive it. The Protestant sacraments are baptism and the Lord's Supper. In the Roman Catholic and Eastern Churches they are baptism, penance, confirmation, the Eucharist, holy orders, matrimony, and the anointing of the sick (formerly extreme unction)

2. (often capital) the Eucharist

3. the consecrated elements of the Eucharist, esp the bread

4. something regarded as possessing a sacred or mysterious significance

5. a symbol; pledge

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sacrament Cultural  

1. A religious ceremony or rite. Most Christian churches reserve the term for those rites that Jesus himself instituted, but there are disagreements between them on which rites those are. The Lutheran Church, for example, maintains that baptism and Communion are the only sacraments, whereas in the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church, there are five more: confirmation; confession; anointing of the sick; the ordination of clergy; and the marriage of Christians.

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Etymology

Origin of sacrament

1150–1200; Middle English < Medieval Latin sacrāmentum obligation, oath, Late Latin: mystery, rite, equivalent to Latin sacrā ( re ) to devote + -mentum -ment

Example Sentences

“Twelve Churches” is decidedly not a book about theology: It doesn’t describe debates about the Trinity or what constitutes a sacrament.

From The Wall Street Journal

More food, more money, and the symbolic pull of seven — sacraments, days of creation, virtues — turned a humble pre-Mass meal into a celebratory Italian-American blowout.

From Salon

A metaphysical reality thick with angels and sacraments.

From The Wall Street Journal

He had come to sponsor my teenage son Finn as he received the sacrament of Confirmation, a Catholic rite of adolescence.

From The Wall Street Journal

A simple bronze altar has been created, with new chalices for the sacraments.

From BBC

Related Words

• communion
• liturgy