sacristia

Forms

sacristia f (genitive sacristiae); first declension^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin sacrista + -ia,^[2][1] and sacrista “sacristan” is from Latin sacer (“sacred, holy”).^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The earliest dated record in the DMLBS is a papal bull of 1177, which assigns revenues to the sacristia of a monastery, meaning the office or department of the sacristan.^[2]

Semantic evolution

In medieval Latin the word meant both the office of the sacristan and the room in a church where vestments, ornaments and vessels were kept.^[3][2] In some Italian towns it also named a place where public records were deposited: the statutes of Asti have one copy of the lists of outlaws kept at the sacristia of the commune.^[4] Ecclesiastical Latin keeps the sense “sacristy, vestry”.^[5]

English took the word as sacristy in the mid-15th century, through Anglo-French.^[6]

Timeline

• 1177 – A papal bull speaks of the sacristia of a monastery.^[2]
• c. 1209 – An English charter names tithes reserved to the sacristia and the almonry.^[2]
• 1255 – The Annals of Burton record rents of the sacristia.^[2]
• mid-15th century – English borrows it, through Anglo-French, as sacristy.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. The office or department of the sacristan.^[3][2]
2. A sacristy, vestry: the room in a church where vestments and sacred vessels are kept.^[3][2][5]
3. A depository of public records.^[4]

Related words

• sacer
• English sacristy

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
4. ^ a b du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
5. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
6. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com