sacrifice
pronunciation
How to pronounce sacrifice in British English:
UK [ˈsækrɪfaɪs]
How to pronounce sacrifice in American English:
US [ˈsækrɪfaɪs]
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- Noun:
- the act of losing or surrendering something as a penalty for a mistake or fault or failure to perform etc.
- personnel that are sacrificed (e.g., surrendered or lost in order to gain an objective)
- a loss entailed by giving up or selling something at less than its value
- the act of killing (an animal or person) in order to propitiate a deity
- (sacrifice) an out that advances the base runners
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- Verb:
- endure the loss of
- kill or destroy
- sell at a loss
- make a sacrifice of; in religious rituals
Word Origin
- sacrifice (n.)
- late 13c., "offering of something (especially a life) to a deity as an act of propitiation or homage;" mid-14c., "that which is offered in sacrifice," from Old French sacrifise "sacrifice, offering" (12c.), from Latin sacrificium, from sacrificus "performing priestly functions or sacrifices," from sacra "sacred rites" (properly neuter plural of sacer "sacred;" see sacred) + root of facere "to do, perform" (see factitious). Latin sacrificium is glossed in Old English by ansegdniss. Sense of "act of giving up one thing for another; something given up for the sake of another" is first recorded 1590s. Baseball sense first attested 1880.
- sacrifice (v.)
- c. 1300, "to offer something (to a deity, as a sacrifice)," from sacrifice (n.). Meaning "surrender, give up, suffer to be lost" is from 1706. Related: Sacrificed; sacrificing. Agent noun forms include sacrificer, sacrificator (both 16c., the latter from Latin); and sacrificulist (17c.).
Example
- 1. Bringing a friend to jesus always requires sacrifice .
- 2. His hard sacrifice makes it evident that our spontaneity needs calvarylike discipline .
- 3. Institutional social inequalities existed such as slavery and human sacrifice .
- 4. One potential sacrifice is wfirst , an infra-red space telescope intended for launch in 2020 .
- 5. However that requires some sacrifice .