˜yÐÄvlog

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View synonyms for

altar

[ awl-ter ]

noun

  1. an elevated place or structure, as a mound or platform at which religious rites are performed or on which sacrifices are offered to gods, ancestors, etc.
  2. Ecclesiastical. communion table.
  3. Altar, Astronomy. the constellation Ara.
  4. (in a dry dock) a ledge for supporting the feet of shorings.


altar

/ ˈɔ˱ô³ÙÉ™ /

noun

  1. a raised place or structure where sacrifices are offered and religious rites performed
  2. (in Christian churches) the communion table
  3. a step in the wall of a dry dock upon which structures supporting a vessel can stand
  4. lead to the altar informal.
    to marry
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged†2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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˜yÐÄvlog History and Origins

Origin of altar1

First recorded before 1000; Middle English alter, altar, auter, Old English altar, altare, alter; (compare Middle Dutch outaer, Old Saxon, Old Norse altari, Old High German ²¹±ô³ÙÄå°ù¾± ), from Latin ²¹±ô³ÙÄå°ù¾±a (the more frequently used plural of ²¹±ô³ÙÄå°ù±ð used in a singular sense), of disputed origin and formation, but probably akin to Latin ²¹»å´Ç±ôŧ°ù±ð “to make a burnt offering, cremate,†Umbrian ³ÜÅ™±ð³Ù³Ü “let it burn, set incense on the fireâ€
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˜yÐÄvlog History and Origins

Origin of altar1

Old English, from Latin ²¹±ô³ÙÄå°ù¾±a (plural) altar, from altus high
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Idioms and Phrases

  1. lead to the altar, to marry:

    After a five-year courtship, he led her to the altar.

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Example Sentences

Every day for over a week, I knelt before a makeshift altar in my bedroom, anchored myself to my breath and performed a most Herculean feat: twice daily, hour-long meditations.

From

"A person who worships at the altar of Donald Trump will kneel before him, not stand up to him," he said, while assailing his main rival, Poilievre.

From

When her father numbs his pain with his wife’s prescription and sadly croons a song from when he was an altar boy, Piper can only roll her eyes and excuse herself from the room.

From

In front of the the altar, worshipers placed offerings of shoes, suitcases and photos of the disappeared.

From

Elated when Biscuit's severed head was discovered on an altar.

From

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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