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Altar

//ˈɒl.tə// noun, slang

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A table or similar flat-topped structure used for religious rites.

    "To hawke, or els to hunt From the auter to the funt, Wyth cry unreverent, Before the sacrament, Wythin the holy church bowndis, That of our fayth the grownd is."

  2. 2
    a raised structure on which gifts or sacrifices to a god are made wordnet
  3. 3
    A raised area around an altar in a church; the sanctuary. informal
  4. 4
    the table in Christian churches where communion is given wordnet
  5. 5
    Any (real or notional) place where something is worshipped or sacrificed to. figuratively

    "[…]now marking the end of ascetic rationalism, the monadology no longer implied a sacrifice of individuality on the altar of rationality."

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English auter, inherited from Old English altar and borrowed from Old French auter, both derived from Latin altāre, probably related to adolere (“burn”); thus "burning place", influenced by altus (“high”). Displaced native Middle English wēved.

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