sacramental
/sˈækɹəməntəl/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.58 in modern English
15
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
4
Syllables
9
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
An object (such as holy water or a crucifix) or an action (such as making the sign of the cross) which is regarded as encouraging devotion and thus spiritually aiding the person who uses it.
Example Sentences
- "The altar boys got in trouble after they were caught sampling the sacramental wine instead of just passing it to the priest before communion."
- "But under the twofold pressure of solafideism’s rejection of "good works" for the sake of merit and sola scriptura’s denial of anything not explicitly mentioned in the Bible, sacramentals such as images, relics, blessings, and pilgrimages became the objects of the dissenters' most bitter condemnation and scorn."
- "The Sacramentals. Besides the holy sacraments there are things which the Church blesses in order that by the pious use of them the Christian may obtain from God temporal benefits and spiritual health. Now as these things bear a certain resemblance to the sacraments, they are called sacramentals."
- "The activities in this strategy immerse the young people in the many sacramentals that are part of the daily, weekly, and seasonal Catholic individual and communal religious expressions."
Etymology
From Old French sacramental, from Ecclesiastical Latin sacrāmentālis.
Subject
Wiktionary places this term in Religion.