Consecrate
adj, verb ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
- 1 To declare something holy, or make it holy by some procedure. transitive
"But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate—we can not consecrate—we can not hallow—this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract."
- 2 render holy by means of religious rites wordnet
- 3 To ordain as a bishop. specifically, transitive
- 4 dedicate to a deity by a vow wordnet
- 5 To commit (oneself or one's time) solemnly to some aim or task. transitive
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 give entirely to a specific person, activity, or cause wordnet
- 7 appoint to a clerical posts wordnet
- 1 Consecrated. archaic, obsolete
"Led to the city consecrate to Mars."
- 2 Consecrated, devoted, dedicated, sacred. rare
"And that this body conſecrate to thee, By Ruffian Luſt ſhould be contaminate!"
- 1 solemnly dedicated to or set apart for a high or sacred purpose wordnet
Example
More examples"And when the Lord shall have brought thee into the land of the Canaanite, as he swore to thee and thy fathers, and shall give it thee: Thou shalt set apart all that openeth the womb for the Lord, and all that is first brought forth of thy cattle: whatsoever thou shalt have of the male sex, thou shalt consecrate to the Lord."
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ḱe Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm Proto-Italic *kom Proto-Italic *kom- Latin con- Proto-Indo-European *seh₂k- Proto-Italic *sakros Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Italic *-āō Proto-Italic *sakrāō Latin sacrō Latin cōnsecrōbor. Middle English consecraten English consecrate First attested in the late 14ᵗʰ century, in Middle English; inherited from Middle English consecraten (“to dedicate, consecrate (an altar, church); to ordain (a bishop), anoint (a king, a pope); to devote one to religious life”), from consecrat(e) (“consecrated”, used as the past participle of consecraten) + -en (verb-forming suffix), borrowed from Latin cōnsecrātus, perfect passive participle of cōnsecrāre, see -ate (verb-forming suffix).
First attested in the late 14ᵗʰ century, in Middle English; inherited from Middle English consecrat(e) (“consecrated”), used as the past participle of consecraten (“to dedicate, consecrate (an altar, church); to ordain (a bishop), anoint (a king, a pope); to devote one to religious life”); see Etymology 1 and -ate (adjective-forming suffix) for more. Regular participial usage up until Early Modern English.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.