shrine

[shrahyn]

noun

1. a building or other shelter, often of a stately or sumptuous character, enclosing the remains or relics of a saint or other holy person and forming an object of religious veneration and pilgrimage.

2. any place or object hallowed by its history or associations.

   a historic shrine.

3. any structure or place consecrated or devoted to some saint, holy person, or deity, as an altar, chapel, church, or temple.

4. a receptacle for sacred relics; a reliquary.

verb (used with object)

shrined, shrining 

1. to enshrine.

shrine

/ ʃraɪn /

noun

1. a place of worship hallowed by association with a sacred person or object

2. a container for sacred relics

3. the tomb of a saint or other holy person

4. a place or site venerated for its association with a famous person or event

5. RC Church a building, alcove, or shelf arranged as a setting for a statue, picture, or other representation of Christ, the Virgin Mary, or a saint

verb

1. short for enshrine

Other Word Forms

• shrineless adjective
• shrinelike adjective
• unshrined adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of shrine¹

before 1000; Middle English schrine, Old English scrīn (cognate with German Schrein, Dutch schrijn ) < Latin scrīnium case for books and papers

Word History and Origins

Origin of shrine¹

Old English scrīn, from Latin scrīnium bookcase; related to Old Norse skrin, Old High German skrīni

Example Sentences

The shrine was tucked away down a side street on the edge of the city - a low-roofed room crowded with carved figures.

From BBC

She's also a regular visitor of the controversial Yasukuni shrine where Japan's war dead including some convicted war criminals are memorialised.

From BBC

Rahaf immediately set up what she called "a shrine" to her sister Sara, with photographs and mementoes, including her watch, carefully laid out on a bookcase.

From BBC

Next to the TV, there’s even a shrine with devotional portraits of their icon.

From Los Angeles Times

And then comes the best part: labeling, stacking and watching the freezer transform into a tidy shrine of meals ready to pull from across the coming weeks.

From Salon

Related Words

• altar 
• chapel 
• church 
• holy place 
• mausoleum 
• sanctuary 
• temple