shrine

noun, verb — 4 senses

shrine

noun

/ʃɹaɪ̯n/

Etymology From Middle English shryne, from Old English scrīn (“reliquary, ark of the covenant”), from Medieval Latin scrīnium (“reliquary”), “case or chest for books or papers” in Classical Latin. Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to turn, bend”). Compare Old Norse skrín, Old High German skrīni (German Schrein).

1

A holy or sacred place dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, or similar figure of awe and respect, at which said figure is venerated or worshipped.

  • Entering the tunnel, we pass a small shrine above our heads which contains a statue of St Barbara, the patron saint of tunnellers. It is traditional to have such shrines on every tunnel site.2022 March 23, Paul Bigland, “HS2 is just 'passing through'”, in RAIL, number 953, page 41:
2

A case, box, or receptacle, especially one in which are deposited sacred relics, as the bones of a saint.

3

Figuratively A place or object hallowed from its history or associations.

  • a shrine of art
Derived terms
ancestral shrine, enshrine, shrinal, shrine-goer, shrinegoer, shrinekeeper, shrineless, shrinelet, shrinelike, Shriner, unshrined
Coordinate terms
hof, jinja, kapishche, temple

shrine

verb

Etymology From Middle English shryne, from Old English scrīn (“reliquary, ark of the covenant”), from Medieval Latin scrīnium (“reliquary”), “case or chest for books or papers” in Classical Latin. Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to turn, bend”). Compare Old Norse skrín, Old High German skrīni (German Schrein).

1

To enshrine; to place reverently, as if in a shrine.

  • Shrined in his sanctuary.1667, John Milton, “Book VI”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.

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