sacristy

American  

[sak-ri-stee] / ˈsæk rɪ sti /

noun

plural

sacristies

1. an apartment in or a building connected with a church or a religious house, in which the sacred vessels, vestments, etc., are kept.

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sacristy British  

/ ˈsækrɪstɪ /

noun

1. a room attached to a church or chapel where the sacred vessels, vestments, etc, are kept and where priests attire themselves

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Etymology

Origin of sacristy

1400–50; late Middle English < Medieval Latin sacristia vestry, equivalent to sacrist ( a ) ( sacristan ) + -ia -y ³

Example Sentences

In the 18th century the painting was moved to the sacristy, and in the 19th to the town hall.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 23, 2026

There is still scaffolding around much of the eastern end, and in coming years the outside walls of the apse and sacristy will need treatment.

From BBC • Nov. 29, 2024

One sister recalled a time when she and another altar server accidentally spilled open a bag of already-consecrated Eucharist wafers as they were preparing for mass in the wood-paneled sacristy.

From Salon • Mar. 31, 2024

“You could take the basilica to New York, but we are here,” he said in the sacristy, long after the day’s tourists had stopped wandering above.

From Washington Times • Jul. 20, 2023

He was led away to be locked in Martin’s museum—in what used to be the sacristy and was now the island’s makeshift jail cell—until he could be remanded to police on the mainland.

From "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" by Ransom Riggs