English Explanatory Dictionary

shrine

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A holy or sacred place dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, or similar figure of awe and respect, at which said figure is venerated or worshipped.
  2. A case, box, or receptacle, especially one in which are deposited sacred relics, as the bones of a saint.
  3. A place or object hallowed from its history or associations.
verb
  1. To enshrine; to place reverently, as if in a shrine.

Pronunciation

/ʃɹaɪ̯n/ en-us-shrine.ogg

Word forms

shrine shrines shrining shrined

Etymology

From Middle English shryne, from Old English scrīn (“reliquary, ark of the covenant”), from Medieval Latin scrīnium (“reliquary”), “case or chest for books or papers” in Classical Latin. Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to turn, bend”). Compare Old Norse skrín, Old High German skrīni (German Schrein).

Derived words

ancestral shrine enshrine shrinal shrine-goer shrinegoer shrinekeeper shrineless shrinelet shrinelike Shriner unshrined
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