sacrifice English · revision 6903

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1275|origins=la sacer, la facere}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈsæk.rɪ.faɪs/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English sacrefise, sacrifice, [[bor|fro|sacrifise]], sacrefise, and directly [[bor|la|sacrificium]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) from [[m|la|sacrificus|t=performing priestly functions or sacrifices]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998) from [[m|la|sacra|t=sacred rites]], the neuter plural of [[m|la|sacer|t=sacred]] (see [[sacred]]), and the combining form of [[m|la|facere|t=to make, do]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) so that it is etymologically “a making sacred”.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The offering of something, especially a life, to a deity: about 1275 in Barnhart, the late 13th century in Etymonline, before 1300 in the OED.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ That which is offered, the victim, is from about 1250 in the OED and the mid-14th century in Etymonline.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) In Christian theology the offering by Christ of himself is from about 1375,^(OED 1989) and the ''sacrifice of praise'', a biblical phrase, from 1535.^(OED 1989) The giving up of something valued for the sake of something else is first found in Shakespeare's ''Romeo and Juliet'' (1592),^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) and the verb in that sense, to surrender or suffer to be lost, from 1706.^(Etymonline) The verb meant first to offer something to a deity, about 1300.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) It drove out [[sacrify]], from Old French sacrifier, which Ruskin, finding it in Sidney, thought the right form, like magnify and glorify.^(Etymonline) In chess, baseball and commerce a sacrifice is a deliberate loss for an advantage, such as selling goods at a loss.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1250 – a victim offered.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1275 – an offering to a deity.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1300 – the verb.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1375 – the sacrifice of Christ.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1592 – giving up something valued, in Shakespeare.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1706 – the verb, to give up for something else.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The offering of something, especially the ritual killing of an animal or person, to a [[deity]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # An animal or person offered in this way; a [[victim]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The giving up of something valued for the sake of something more important.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A loss accepted deliberately, as in [[chess]] or by selling at a loss.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To offer as a sacrifice to a deity.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To give up something valued for the sake of something else.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To sell or give away at a loss.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[sacrificer]]

+ * [[sacrificeable]]

+ * [[presacrifice]]

+ * [[nonsacrifice]]

+ * [[self-sacrifice]]

+ * [[unsacrificed]]

+ * [[self-sacrificing]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[nonsacrificial]]

+ * [[sacred]]

+ * [[sacrificial]]

+ * [[sacrament]]

+ * [[sacrilege]]

+ * [[sacrosanct]]

+ * [[fact]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}