reliquary
Americannoun
-
reliquaries
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of reliquary
1650–60; < Middle French reliquaire < Medieval Latin reliquiārium, equivalent to Latin reliqui ( ae ) remains ( see relic) + -ārium -ary
Explanation
A reliquary is like a special treasure chest or display case for sacred items, like the relics of saints. Reliquaries are often richly decorated with precious gemstones and valuable metals like gold and silver. A church might have a reliquary shaped like a mini cathedral that holds a fragment of a saint's bone, believed to connect the physical world with the divine. Because they contain valuable religious items, reliquaries are not just ordinary containers, but are often beautiful works of art themselves. Some reliquaries are even covered in carvings and images that tell a story about the holy items contained within, making them valuable pieces of art and history.
Vocabulary lists containing reliquary
All Saints' Day
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The Middle Ages
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
It came in a rigid plastic triangle sealed with peel-and-stick film—a transparent reliquary for something nobody revered.
From Salon ● Jul. 30, 2026
Nearby, the importance of France is announced by a 17th-century gilt reliquary, a cross flanked by free-standing angels.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 12, 2025
The reliquary itself, held in the square’s church, was a series of exceedingly odd musical interactions between vocalists and the instruments in a combination of rap session and organized mystical service.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 28, 2025
The crown, which has been kept at the Louvre Museum while the famed cathedral underwent extensive renovation, has been placed in a newly built reliquary to replace the one from 1806.
From BBC ● Dec. 13, 2024
Who was I, after all, but some comic Queequeg, holding close to my breast a reliquary containing the white powder of a dead European civilization?
From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez
The mesmerizing array of paintings, frescoes, statues, chalices, candelabra, vestments, reliquaries and ornate wooden crucifixes can be overwhelming for the visitor.
From Reuters ● Jun. 22, 2022
These reliquaries are where Fennell and Donovan seem most playful.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 10, 2021
Would there come a day when all those shrines and reliquaries would be nothing but Michelin-starred curiosities — left behind, like the great rock faces of Easter Island and Stonehenge?
From New York Times ● Oct. 19, 2019
One is the elongated, slender triangular face with raised, ritual scarifications familiar from so-called Kota reliquaries made in Gabon.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 2019
We’ve finished the Mediaeval period, with its reliquaries and elongated saints, and are speeding through the Renaissance, hitting the high points.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
