sacrum

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See also: Sacrum

English[edit]

The sacrum in the pelvic girdle
English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Etymology[edit]

From Latin os sacrum (holy bone), a calque of Ancient Greek ἱερὸν ὀστέον (hieròn ostéon). Apparently so called either because the sacrum was the part of the animal offered in sacrifice or because of a putative belief that it is where a person's soul resides. A third explanation is that the term is a translation of Ancient Greek ἱερὸν (hieròn), which has two meanings: “holy, sacred”, and “big”[1]big being a more appropriate description of the sacrum — but compare.[2]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • (file)

Noun[edit]

sacrum (plural sacra or sacrums)

  1. (anatomy) A large triangular bone at the base of the spine, located between the two ilia (wings of the pelvis) and formed from vertebrae that fuse in adulthood.
    Synonym: (obsolete) holy bone

Derived terms[edit]

Related terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Voss, Herrlinger, Taschenbuch der Anatomie
  2. ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024), “sacrum”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Anagrams[edit]

Latin[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From sacer (sacred, holy).

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

sacrum n (genitive sacrī); second declension

  1. A holy or sacred object, e.g. statue, image, emblem, vessel, utensil.
    • 29 BCE – 19 BCE, Virgil, Aeneid 2.293:
      “‘Sacra suōsque tibī commendat Troia penātēs.’”
      [Aeneas dreams that Hector tells him:] “‘Troy entrusts to you her sacred objects and household gods.’”
  2. A holy or sacred place, e.g. sanctuary, shrine, temple.
  3. A religious act or observance, e.g. a sacrifice, festival, rite.
  4. Divine worship or religion.
    • c. 54-51 B.C.E., Cicero, De re publica, 2.7.13
      quo foedere et Sabinos in civitatem adscivit sacris conmunicatis et regnum suum cum illorum rege sociavit
      By this compact he admitted the Sabines into the city, gave them a participation in the religious ceremonies, and divided his power with their king.
  5. The private religious rites of a family.
    • c. 51 B.C.E., Cicero, De Legibus, 2.9.22
      sacra privata perpetua manento
      Let private devotions be perpetually practised.
  6. (only in plural) Poems (as sacred to the muse).
    • c. 8-18 AD, Ovid, Tristia, 4.10.19
      at mihi iam puero caelestia sacra placebant inque suum furtim Musa trahebat opus
      But even as a boy the heavenly poems delighted me, and the Muse was drawing me secretly to her work.
  7. (only in plural, post-Augustan) Secrets, mysteries.
    • 8 AD, Ovid, Metamorphoses, 7.709
      sacra tori coitusque novos thalamosque recentes primaque deserti referebam foedera lecti
      I told Aurora of our wedding secrets and all refreshing mysteries of coition – and my first union on my now-deserted couch.

Declension[edit]

Second-declension noun (neuter).

Case Singular Plural
Nominative sacrum sacra
Genitive sacrī sacrōrum
Dative sacrō sacrīs
Accusative sacrum sacra
Ablative sacrō sacrīs
Vocative sacrum sacra

Adjective[edit]

sacrum

  1. inflection of sacer:
    1. nominative/accusative/vocative neuter singular
    2. accusative masculine singular

Related terms[edit]

References[edit]

  • sacrum”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  • sacrum”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
  • sacrum in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
  • sacrum in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette
  • Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
    • to be present at divine service (of the people): sacris adesse
    • to be initiated into the mysteries of a cult: sacris initiari (Quintil. 12. 10. 14)
    • (ambiguous) ritual; ceremonial: sacra, res divinae, religiones, caerimoniae
    • (ambiguous) to sacrifice: sacra, sacrificium facere (ἱερὰ ῥέζειν), sacrificare
    • (ambiguous) to profane sacred rites: sacra polluere et violare
  • sacrum”, in William Smith, editor (1854, 1857) A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography, volume 1 & 2, London: Walton and Maberly

Polish[edit]

Polish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia pl

Etymology[edit]

Unadapted borrowing from Latin sacrum. Doublet of sakra.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

sacrum n (indeclinable)

  1. (anthropology) sacrum (the sacred world)
    Antonym: profanum

Further reading[edit]

  • sacrum in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Romanian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from French sacrum.

Noun[edit]

sacrum n (uncountable)

  1. sacrum

Declension[edit]