reliquary

Etymology

Most dictionaries take it as borrowed from French reliquaire (“receptacle for relics”),^{[2][3][4][5][6][7][8]} recorded from 1328 in Middle French,^[9] and formed from Old French relique (“relic”),^{[2][3][4][5][8]} which comes from Late Latin reliquiae (“sacred relics”).^[2] Dictionary.com, Merriam-Webster Unabridged, Partridge and Weekley give the French word a Medieval Latin source, Medieval Latin reliquiārium.^{[10][6][11][12]} The OED, in its 2009 revision, instead treats it as formed from English relic + -ary, after either the French word or the same Medieval Latin noun, recorded from the 14th century in continental sources, with reliquiāre in a British source of the 13th century.^[9] It compares Spanish relicario, Portuguese relicário and Italian reliquiario.^[9] The Latin reliquiae (“remains, remnants”) is related to relinquō (“to leave behind”).^[4][11]

Earliest recorded meaning

A receptacle for a relic or relics: 1550, in an inventory of the Earl of Crawford's muniments,^[9] also Merriam-Webster Unabridged's date.^[6] Barnhart first finds it in 1656, in Blount's Glossographia,^[3] and Etymonline in the 1650s.^[4]

Semantic evolution

The physical sense has stayed the main one, often for a small and richly decorated box or casket.^[9][4] A figurative sense, something that preserves the memory of past events or people, is recorded early, from 1611.^[9] An adjective, relating to relics or of the nature of a remnant, appeared in 1830, apparently from Latin reliquus.^[9]

Timeline

• 1550 – a receptacle for relics.^[9][6] Barnhart first records it in 1656.^[3]
• 1611 – figurative, something that preserves the memory of the past.^[9]
• 1830 – adjective, relating to relics; residual.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. A box, casket or shrine, often of precious metal and richly decorated, in which religious relics are kept or shown.^{[9][6][13][7]}
2. Something that preserves the memory of past events or people.^[9]

Adjective

1. Of, relating to or serving as relics.^[6][9]
2. Of the nature of a remnant; residual.^[9]

Related words

• relic
• relinquish
• relict

Usage notes

The pronunciation with /w/, recorded from the 18th century, probably arose by association with Medieval Latin reliquiārium or Latin reliquiae, since the u of the French word was purely graphic.^[9] The word is also spelled reliquaire,^[13][7] and rarely relicary.^[7]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
3. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
11. ^ a b Partridge, Eric (1966), Origins: A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, 4th ed., London: Routledge & Kegan Paul
12. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
13. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins