Libation
noun ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
- 1 The act of pouring a liquid, most often wine, in sacrifice on the ground, on a ritual object, or on a victim, in honor of some deity. countable, uncountable
"While we to Jove the pure libations pay, Than Jove what apter claims the hallow'd lay?"
- 2 the act of pouring a liquid offering (especially wine) as a religious ceremony wordnet
- 3 The wine or liquid thus poured out. countable, uncountable
- 4 a serving (of wine) poured out in honor of a deity wordnet
- 5 A beverage, especially an alcoholic one. countable, humorous, often, uncountable
"[…] watching you, the waiters, not quite making eye-contact but scanning for any little way to be of service, plus plum-jacketed sommeliers walking around to see if you need a non-buffet libation…"
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- 6 (facetious) a serving of an alcoholic beverage wordnet
Example
More examples"Indeed, they had never passed the grotto without leaving some token of respect. In the morning when they led their flocks to pasture, and again in the evening ere they started home, they paid worship to the Deities, and presented either a flower, a green bough, some fruit, or a libation of milk, as an offering; and this piety, as we shall see presently, had its reward."
Etymology
From Latin lībātiō, from lībāre (“to take a little from anything, to taste, to pour out as an offering”).
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.