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Saint

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saint¹

  • /seɪnt/
  • /sən(t)/
  • [sn̩(t)]
  • [sɨn(t)]
  • /sɛnt/ UK, dialectal

Sounds like sent, cent, scent · Rhymes with -eɪnt, -ənt, -ɛnt

Where it comes from

From Middle English saint, seint, sainct, seinct, sanct, senct, partly from Old English sanct (“saint”) and confluence with Old French saint, seinte (Modern French saint); both from Latin sānctus (“holy, consecrated”, in Late Latin as a noun, “a saint”), past participle of sancīre (“to render sacred, make holy”), akin to sacer (“holy, sacred”). Doublet of Sanctus. Displaced native Middle English halwe (“saint”) from Old English hālga (“saint, holy one”) (> Modern English hallow (“saint”)).

noun saints · St · St.

  1. A deceased person whom a church or another religious group has officially recognised as especially holy or godly; one eminent for piety and virtue. The Roman Catholic Church proclaimed Kateri Tekakwitha a saint in 2012.
  2. One of the blessed in heaven. Then ſhall thy Saints unmixt, and from th' impure / Farr ſeparate, circling thy holy Mount / Unfained Halleluiahs to thee ſing,
  3. A Christian; a faithful believer in the present world. Unto the Church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Iesus, called to be Saints, with all that in euery place call vpon the Name of Iesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours.
  4. Mormonism, specifically Alternative letter-case form of Saint (“a Mormon, a Latter-day Saint”).Saint
  5. broadly, figuratively A person with similarly overwhelming positive qualities; one who does good. Dorothy Day was a living saint.
  6. archaic A holy object. It is ruine to a man to deuoure ſaintes, and afterward to retracte the vowes.

Similar: hallow

saint²

  • /seɪnt/
  • /sən(t)/
  • [sn̩(t)]
  • [sɨn(t)]
  • /sɛnt/ UK, dialectal

Sounds like sent, cent, scent · Rhymes with -eɪnt, -ənt, -ɛnt

Where it comes from

From Middle English saynten, seinten, sonten, partly from Anglo-Norman saintir and partly from the noun Middle English seint, seynt (see above).

verb saints · sainting · sainted

  1. transitive Synonym of canonize: to honor, formally name, or revere as a saint. Many Catholics wished to see Pope John Paul II sainted immediately after his death.

Saint³

  • /seɪnt/
  • /sənt/ unstressed

Rhymes with -eɪnt

Where it comes from

From saint.

noun Saints

  1. A title given to a saint, often prefixed to the person's name. Saint Stephen was the first martyr.
  2. Mormonism A Latter-day Saint, a Mormon. the Kirtland Saints
  3. Someone connected with any of the sports teams known as the Saints, such as a player or coach, or sometimes a fan. In 1971, during Archie Manning's first game as a New Orleans Saint and the season opener against the Los Angeles Rams, […]
  4. UK Saint class, a class of steam locomotives used on the GWR.

proper noun Saints

  1. A surname.

proper noun the Saint

  1. A nickname, given to someone of very good character.
  2. A nickname, given to someone of extreme religiosity.

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