Etymologically
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sanctuary

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 17 October 2026 at 15:35. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˈsæŋk.tʃʊə.ri/, US /ˈsæŋk.tʃu.er.i/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English seintuarie, borrowed from Anglo-Norman sentuarie and Old French saintuaire (“sacred relic, holy thing, sanctuary”),[2][3][4] from Late Latin sānctuārium (“a sacred place, shrine”),[2][3][4][5] from Latin sānctus (“holy”) (see saint).[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A consecrated place: before 1325, as santuare, in Cursor Mundi;[2] a building set apart for worship before 1340 in the OED;[6] Etymonline adds a holy object, early 14th century.[3]

Semantic evolution

Late Latin used the word especially for the Holy of Holies of the Temple in Jerusalem, and Medieval Latin also for a church, a cemetery and the right of asylum.[3] The holy place of the Jewish temple and Heaven are sanctuaries from 1382,[6] and the part of a church around the altar from the early 15th century.[6] Since Constantine's time, church law gave fugitives immunity from arrest in certain churches,[3] and a place of refuge is first recorded about 1380, in Chaucer's Boethius.[2] In Norfolk dialect the sanctuary was the consecrated ground of a churchyard.[7]

Timeline

  • before 1325 – a consecrated place.[2]
  • c. 1380 – a place of refuge.[2]
  • 1382 – the holy place of the temple.[6]
  • early 15th century – the area around the altar.[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A holy place, such as a church, temple or mosque.
  2. The holiest part of a sacred place, such as the area around the altar.
  3. (Old Testament) The temple at Jerusalem, especially the holy of holies.
  4. A sacred place where fugitives were formerly immune from arrest, or that immunity itself.
  5. A place of refuge or safety.

Word family

  • sanctuaried

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)