altar

[awl-ter]

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.

3. Astronomy.,  Altar, the constellation Ara.

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

altar

/ ˈɔːltə /

noun

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

2. (in Christian churches) the communion table

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

4. informal,  to marry

Word History and Origins

Origin of altar¹

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”

Word History and Origins

Origin of altar¹

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

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. lead to the altar, to marry.

   After a five-year courtship, he led her to the altar.

Example Sentences

Burroughs ruled that the protection of free speech must be weighed against the “fight against antisemitism…and neither goal should nor needs to be sacrificed on the altar of the other.”

Read more on Salon

In the UK's second season of the show, 30 hopefuls entered the pods - five couples got engaged and three said yes at the altar.

Read more on BBC

Without anything divine to revere, American home and landscape design largely genuflects at the altar of the market.

Read more on Salon

Soon after, Greene’s work filled nearly every room of his former Palos Verdes home: lamps, shelves, an altar, an armoire adorned with a lotus flower.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Among the most delicate aspects of the move is the protection of the church's interior treasures, especially its great altar painting made by Prince Eugen, a member of Sweden's royal family.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• shrine