Etymologically
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sanctuarium

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [saːŋk.tuˈaː.ri.ũː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [saŋk.tuˈaː.ri.um][1]

Forms

sānctuārium n (genitive sānctuāriī or sānctuārī); second declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin sanctus (“holy”) + -ārium.[2][1] Wiktionary notes that the ⟨u⟩, unexpected beside a second-declension adjective, makes this doubtful, and suggests a passage through an adjective *sanctuārius “relating to sanctity”.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first dated use is in Pliny the Elder, who tells how Pompey found the recipe for an antidote in sanctuariis Mithridatis, in the private cabinet of the defeated king.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

In the 1st and 2nd centuries it meant both a place for keeping holy things, a shrine, and a place for private or confidential records.[2][4] L&S regards it as a post-Augustan word for sacrārium.[4] The Vulgate made it the usual word for the sanctuary of the Temple,[4][5] and Ecclesiastical Latin for any holy place.[6]

Medieval Latin used it for a church or temple, the sanctuary of a church, the relics of a saint and their reliquary, the sacristy and the churchyard.[7][1] English sanctuary comes from it through Anglo-French in the early 14th century.[5]

Timeline

  • 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it of the private cabinet of Mithridates.[2][3]
  • c. 340–397 AD – Ambrose uses it.[3]
  • 390–406 AD – The Vulgate uses it for the sanctuary, in Daniel and elsewhere.[4][3]
  • early 14th century – English borrows it as seintuarie.[5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A place for keeping holy things; a shrine, sanctuary.[2][4][6]
  2. A place for private or confidential records; a prince's private cabinet.[2][4]
  3. (Medieval Latin) A church or temple; the sanctuary of a church.[7]
  4. (Medieval Latin) The relics of a saint; a reliquary.[7][1]
  5. (Medieval Latin) A sacristy; a churchyard.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  4. ^ a b c d e f Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  7. ^ a b c d Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill