Wiktionary

sanctuary

English

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Etymology

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From Middle English seyntuarie, from Old French saintuaire, from Late Latin sanctuarium (“a sacred place, a shrine, a private cabinet, in Medieval Latin also temple, church, churchyard, cemetery, right of asylum”), from Latin sanctus (“holy, sacred”); see saint.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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sanctuary (countable and uncountable, plural sanctuaries)

 
A sanctuary in the Notre-Dame Basilica in Montreal
  1. A place of safety, refuge, or protection.
    My car is a sanctuary, where none can disturb me except for people who cut me off.
    • 1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “The Last Night with the Dead”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 315:
      She saw him, even as she had last gazed upon him, pale, cold, and awful; but still he was there. The coffin was to her like a shrine; all that she held most dear and most precious was within its dark and silent sanctuary.
    • 1963, Margery Allingham, “Foreword”, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
      ‘I understand that the district was considered a sort of sanctuary,’ the Chief was saying. ‘An Alsatia like the ancient one behind the Strand, or the Saffron Hill before the First World War. […]’
  2. An area set aside for protection.
    The bird sanctuary has strict restrictions on visitors so the birds aren't disturbed.
  3. A state of being protected, asylum.
    The government granted sanctuary to the defector, protecting him from his former government.
  4. The consecrated (or sacred) area of a church or temple around its tabernacle or altar.

Synonyms

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Synonyms of sanctuary

Hyponyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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Further reading

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