altar

American  

[awl-ter] / ˈɔl tər /

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.

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idioms

1. lead to the altar, to marry.

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

altar British  

/ 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

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Etymology

Origin of altar

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”

Example Sentences

The remains are being shown in a plexiglass case by the richly-decorated church's altar for the 800th anniversary of his death.

From Barron's

And unlike their trips down the skeleton run, their path to the altar hit a speed bump.

From The Wall Street Journal

At one point Bad Bunny crashed through the casita's roof, and for a few moments the set transformed into an altar as a couple was officially married on stage.

From BBC

Sadako looked at the ceiling and wondered if her grandmother’s spirit was floating somewhere above the altar.

From Literature

“I was raised a Catholic, was an altar boy, and at 14 I seriously considered becoming a priest,” Wilson told The Times in 1986.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• shrine