sacrifice
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sacrifice¹
- /ˈsæk.ɹɪ.faɪs/ UK
- /-faɪz/ UK, archaic, poetic
- /ˈsæk.ɹɪˌfaɪs/ Canada, US
- /ˈsæk.ɹəˌfaɪs/ Canada, US
- /ˈsæk.ɹɪ.fɑes/ Australia
- /ˈsæk.ɹə.fɑes/ Australia
- /ˈsɛk.ɹɪ.fɑe̯s/ New Zealand
Rhymes with -aɪs
Where it comes from
From Middle English sacrifice (“act of offering a life or object to a deity; the life or object so offered”), from Anglo-Norman sacrefiz, and Old French sacrifice, sacrifise (modern French sacrifice), from Latin sacrificium (“something offered to a deity, sacrifice”), from sacrum (“sacrifice, sacrificial rite”) + faciō (“to do, to make”) + -ium (suffix forming abstract nouns). The noun sacrum is the nominalized neuter of the adjective sacer (“devoted to a deity for sacrifice; holy, sacred”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *seh₂k- (“ceremony, ritual; to make sacred”), and the verb faciō is ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- (“to do; to place, put”). Related Latin formations include sacrificus (“of or pertaining to sacrifice, sacrificial”) and sacrificō (“to make a sacrifice”). Displaced native Old English blōt and hūsl.
Cognates
* Italian sagrifizio
* Occitan sacrifici
* Portuguese sacrificio
* Spanish sacrificio
noun sacrifices
- Originally, the killing (and often burning) of a human being or an animal as an offering to a deity; later, also the offering of an object to a deity. They firſt vvaſh the dead body, paint him, clothe him, and ſo conueigh him to his Dormitorie, vvhich is ſpacious and neat, vvherein they bury his Armolets, Bracelets, Shackles and ſuch Treaſure, concluding their Ceremonies vvith Mimmicke geſtures and eiaculations: vvhich, vvith the Sacrifice of a Go
- A human being or an animal, or a physical object or immaterial thing (see etymology 1 sense 1.3), offered to a deity. O th'inchaunting vvords of that baſe ſlaue, / Made him to thinke Epeus pine-tree Horſe [i.e., the Trojan Horse] / A ſacrifize t'appeaſe Mineruas vvrath: […]
- The offering of devotion, penitence, prayer, thanksgiving, etc., to a deity. Let vs therfore by him [Jesus] offre allwayes vnto God the ſacrifice of prayſe: that is to ſaye, the frute of thoſe lippes which confeſſe his name.
- Jesus Christ's voluntary offering of himself to God the Father to be crucified as atonement for the sins of humankind.
- The rite of Holy Communion or the Mass, regarded as (Protestantism) an offering of thanksgiving to God for Christ's crucifixion, or (Roman Catholicism) a perpetual re-presentation of Christ's sacrificial offering. The pretensions of the holy see, the authority of tradition, purgatory, transubstantiation, the sacrifice of the mass, […] were copiously discussed.
- The destruction or surrender of anything for the sake of something else regarded as more urgent or valuable; also, the thing destroyed or surrendered for this purpose. the sacrifice of one’s spare time in order to volunteer
- Ellipsis of sacrifice bunt or sacrifice hit (“a play in which the batter intentionally hits the ball softly with a hands-spread batting stance at the cost of an out to advance one or more runners”).
-
In full sacrifice bid: a bid of a contract which is unlikely to be fulfilled, that a player makes in the hope that they will incur fewer penalty points than the points likely to be gained by opponents in making their contract.
Similar: save
- A monetary loss incurred by selling something at less than its value; also, the thing thus sold. The Old Year was already looked upon as dead; and its effects were selling cheap like some drowned mariner's aboardship. Its patterns were Last Year's and going at a sacrifice, before its breath was gone. Its treasures were mere dirt, beside the riches of its unborn successor!
- An act of intentionally allowing one's piece to be captured by the opponent in order to improve one's position in the game.
sacrifice²
- /ˈsæk.ɹɪ.faɪs/ UK
- /-faɪz/ UK, archaic, poetic
- /ˈsæk.ɹɪˌfaɪs/ Canada, US
- /ˈsæk.ɹəˌfaɪs/ Canada, US
- /ˈsæk.ɹɪ.fɑes/ Australia
- /ˈsæk.ɹə.fɑes/ Australia
- /ˈsɛk.ɹɪ.fɑe̯s/ New Zealand
Rhymes with -aɪs
Where it comes from
From Middle English sacrificen (“to offer a sacrifice to a deity”), from sacrifice (see etymology 1) + -en (suffix forming infinitives of verbs).
verb sacrifices · sacrificing · sacrificed · sacrifice
- To offer (a human being or an animal, or an object) to a deity. And there ſhall bee no leauened bread ſeene with thee in all thy coaſts ſeuen dayes, neither ſhall there any thing of the fleſh, which thou ſacrificedſt the firſt day at Euen, remaine all night, vntill the morning.
- To destroy or kill (a human being or an animal); specifically (sciences), to kill (an animal) for a scientific experiment or test. Condemn'd to ſacrifice his childiſh Years / To babling Ign'rance, and to empty Fears; […]
- To destroy or surrender (something) for the sake of something else regarded as more urgent or valuable. Venison has many advantages over meat from factory farms, although it still requires a hunter to sacrifice the life of a deer.
- Of a batter: to advance (one or more runners on base) by batting the ball so it can be fielded, placing the batter out but with insufficient time to put the runner(s) out.
- To sell (something) at less than its value, thus incurring a monetary loss. A newspaper advertisement announces that "A professional gentleman is instructed to sacrifice Three young sound Horses at half their cost." We wonder what deity horses could be sacrificed to?
- To intentionally allow (a piece) to be captured by the opponent in order to improve one's position in the game.
- To offer a human being or an animal, or an object, to a deity. All things come alike to all: there is one euent to the righteous and to the wicked, to the good and to the cleane, and to the vncleane; to him that ſacrificeth, and to him that ſacrificeth not: as is the good, ſo is the ſinner, and hee that ſweareth, as he that feareth an oath.
- Of a batter: to bat the ball so that it can be fielded, placing the batter out but allowing one or more runners on base to advance.
- To make a bid of a contract which is unlikely to be fulfilled, in the hope that that the player will incur fewer penalty points than the points likely to be gained by opponents in making their contract.
- To celebrate Holy Communion or Mass. For what power but God's can make good the promise of tendering the Body and Blood of Christ, as a visible mean^([sic]) to convey His Spirit? And he that goes about to make this change by consecrating the eucharist, must needs be understood to acknowledge this power of God's; but this is not that ac
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: give, forfeiture, forfeit, ritual killing, consecration, devotion, dedication, christ, self-sacrifice, devote, gift, donate, offering, offer, pay, expense
Translations
Every language
noun killing (and often burning) of a human being or an animal as an offering to a deity; offering of an object to a deity
| हिन्दी | बलि bali |
|---|---|
| Kiswahili | dhabihu |
| Français | sacrifice, offrande |
| Italiano | sacrificio |
| Ελληνικά | θυσία thysía |
| Русский | жертвоприноше́ние žertvoprinošénije |
noun human being or an animal, or a physical object or immaterial thing, offered to a deity
| Español | sacrificio |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 희생 huisaeng |
| 日本語 | 犠牲 gisei, 生贄 ikenie |
| 中文 | 犧牲 /牺牲 xīshēng |
| हिन्दी | त्याग tyāg, बलि bali |
| Português | sacrifício |
| Français | sacrifice |
| Deutsch | Opfer |
| Italiano | sacrificio |
| Ελληνικά | θυσία thysía |
| Română | sacrificiu, jertfă |
| Русский | же́ртва žértva, поже́ртвование požértvovanije |
| Tiếng Việt | lễ vật |
| العربية | تَضْحِيَة taḍḥiya, قُرْبَان qurbān, ضَحِيَّة ḍaḥiyya |
| עברית | קורבן, קׇרְבָּן korbán |
noun destruction or surrender of anything for the sake of something else regarded as more urgent or valuable; the thing destroyed or surrendered for this purpose
| हिन्दी | बलिदान balidān |
|---|---|
| Русский | поже́ртвование požértvovanije |
verb (transitive) to offer (a human being or an animal, or an object) to a deity; (transitive) to offer a human being or an animal, or an object, to a deity
| Español | sacrificar |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 희생(犧牲)하다 huisaenghada |
| 日本語 | 捧げる sasageru, 犠牲にする gisei ni suru |
| 中文 | 祭獻 /祭献 jìxiàn, 犧牲 /牺牲 xīshēng |
| हिन्दी | क़ुरबान करना qurbān karnā |
| Kiswahili | kuchinja |
| Português | sacrificar |
| Français | sacrifier |
| Deutsch | opfern |
| Italiano | sacrificare |
| Ελληνικά | θυσιάζω thysiázo |
| Română | sacrifica, jertfi |
| Русский | же́ртвовать žértvovatʹ, поже́ртвовать požértvovatʹ, приноси́ть в же́ртву prinosítʹ v žértvu, принести́ в же́ртву prinestí v žértvu |
| Tiếng Việt | tế, cúng tế, hiến tế |
| العربية | ضَحَّى ḍaḥḥā |
| עברית | הקריב hikrív |
verb to destroy or surrender (something) for the sake of something else regarded as more urgent or valuable
| Español | sacrificar |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 捧げる sasageru |
| Português | sacrificar |
| Français | sacrifier |
| Deutsch | opfern |
| Italiano | sacrificare |
| Ελληνικά | θυσιάζω thysiázo |
| Română | sacrifica |
| Русский | же́ртвовать žértvovatʹ, поже́ртвовать požértvovatʹ |
| Tiếng Việt | hi sinh, thí |
verb (business) to sell (something) at less than its value, thus incurring a monetary loss
| Ελληνικά | θυσιάζω thysiázo |
|---|
verb (chess) to intentionally allow (a piece) to be captured by the opponent in order to improve one’s position in the game
| Ελληνικά | θυσιάζω thysiázo |
|---|---|
| Русский | же́ртвовать žértvovatʹ, поже́ртвовать požértvovatʹ |
| Tiếng Việt | thí |
Talk about this word "sacrifice." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/sacrifice. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. sacrifice. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/sacrifice "sacrifice." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/sacrifice.Cite this
@misc{sacrifice_2026,
title = {sacrifice},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/sacrifice},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
