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Webster 1913 Edition

Sacrifice

Sac′ri-fice

(?; 277)
,
Noun.
[OE.
sacrifise
,
sacrifice
, F.
sacrifice
, fr. L.
sacrificium
;
sacer
sacred +
facere
to make. See
Sacred
, and
Fact
.]
1.
The offering of anything to God, or to a god; consecratory rite.
Great pomp, and
sacrifice
, and praises loud,
To Dagon.
Milton.
2.
Anything consecrated and offered to God, or to a divinity; an immolated victim, or an offering of any kind, laid upon an altar, or otherwise presented in the way of religious thanksgiving, atonement, or conciliation.
Moloch, horrid king, besmeared with blood
Of human
sacrifice
.
Milton.
My life, if thou preserv’st my life,
Thy
sacrifice
shall be.
Addison.
3.
Destruction or surrender of anything for the sake of something else; devotion of some desirable object in behalf of a higher object, or to a claim deemed more pressing; hence, also, the thing so devoted or given up;
as, the
sacrifice
of interest to pleasure, or of pleasure to interest
.
4.
A sale at a price less than the cost or the actual value.
[Tradesmen's Cant]
Burnt sacrifice
.
See
Burnt offering
, under
Burnt
.
–
Sacrifice hit
(Baseball)
,
in batting, a hit of such a kind that the batter loses his chance of tallying, but enables one or more who are on bases to get home or gain a base.

Sac′ri-fice

(?; 277)
,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Sacrificed
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Sacrificing
.]
[From
Sacrifice
,
Noun.
: cf. F.
sacrifier
, L.
sacrificare
;
sacer
sacred, holy +
-ficare
(only in comp.) to make. See
-fy
.]
1.
To make an offering of; to consecrate or present to a divinity by way of expiation or propitiation, or as a token acknowledgment or thanksgiving; to immolate on the altar of God, in order to atone for sin, to procure favor, or to express thankfulness;
as, to
sacrifice
an ox or a sheep
.
Oft
sacrificing
bullock, lamb, or kid.
Milton.
2.
Hence, to destroy, surrender, or suffer to be lost, for the sake of obtaining something; to give up in favor of a higher or more imperative object or duty; to devote, with loss or suffering.
Condemned to
sacrifice
his childish years
To babbling ignorance, and to empty fears.
Prior.
The Baronet had
sacrificed
a large sum . . . for the sake of . . . making this boy his heir.
G. Eliot.
3.
To destroy; to kill.
Johnson.
4.
To sell at a price less than the cost or the actual value.
[Tradesmen's Cant]

Sac′ri-fice

,
Verb.
I.
To make offerings to God, or to a deity, of things consumed on the altar; to offer sacrifice.
O teacher, some great mischief hath befallen
To that meek man, who well had
sacrificed
.
Milton.

Webster 1828 Edition

Sacrifice

SAC'RIFICE

,
Verb.
T.
sac'rifize. [L. sacrifico; sacer, sacred, and facio, to make.]
1.
To offer to God in homage or worship, by killing and consuming, as victims on an altar; to immolate, either as an atonement for sin, or to procure favor, or to express thankfulness; as, to sacrifice an ox or a lamb. 2Sam. 6.
2.
To destroy, surrender or suffer to be lost for the sake of obtaining something; as, to sacrifice the peace of the church to a little vain curiosity. We should never sacrifice health to pleasure, nor integrity to fame.
3.
To devote with loss.
Condemn'd to sacrifice his childish years to babbling ignorance and to empty fears.
4.
To destroy; to kill.

SAC'RIFICE

,
Verb.
I.
To make offerings to God by the slaughter and burning of victims, or of some part of them. Ex. 3.

SAC'RIFICE

,
Noun.
[L. sacrificium.]
1.
An offering made to God by killing and burning some animal upon an altar, as an acknowledgment of his power and providence, or to make atonement for sin, appease his wrath or conciliate his favor, or to express thankfulness for his benefits. Sacrifices have been common to most nations, and have been offered to false gods, as well as by the Israelites to Jehovah. A sacrifice differs from an oblation; the latter being an offering of a thing entire or without change, as tithes or first fruits; whereas sacrifice implies a destruction or killing, as of a beast. Sacrifices are expiatory, impetratory, and eucharistical; that is, atoning for sin, seeking favor, or expressing thanks.
Human sacrifices, the killing and offering of human beings to deities, have been practiced by some barbarous nations.
2.
The thing offered to God, or immolated by an act of religion.
My life if thou preserv'st, my life thy sacrifice shall be.
3.
Destruction, surrender or loss made or incurred for gaining some object, or for obliging another; as the sacrifice of interest to pleasure, or of pleasure to interest.
4.
Any thing destroyed.

Definition 2024

sacrifice

sacrifice

English

Verb

sacrifice ‎(third-person singular simple present sacrifices, present participle sacrificing, simple past and past participle sacrificed)

  1. (transitive) To offer (something) as a gift to a deity.
  2. (transitive) To give away (something valuable) to get at least a possibility to gain something else of value (such as self-respect, trust, love, freedom, prosperity), or to avoid an even greater loss.
    • “Don’t you break my heart / ’Cause I sacrifice to make you happy.” - From the song Baby Don’t You Do It by Marvin Gaye
    • “God sacrificed His only-begotten Son, so that all people might have eternal life.” (a paraphrase of John 3:16).
    • Prior
      Condemned to sacrifice his childish years / To babbling ignorance, and to empty fears.
    • G. Eliot
      The Baronet had sacrificed a large sum […] for the sake of […] making this boy his heir.
  3. (transitive) To trade (a value of higher worth) for one of lesser worth in order to gain something else valued more such as an ally or business relationship or to avoid an even greater loss; to sell without profit to gain something other than money.
    • Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged
      If you exchange a penny for a dollar, it is not a sacrifice; if you exchange a dollar for a penny, it is.
  4. (transitive, chess) To intentionally give up (a piece) in order to improve one’s position on the board.
  5. (transitive, baseball) To advance (a runner on base) by batting the ball so it can be caught or fielded, placing the batter out, but with insufficient time to put the runner out.
  6. (dated, tradesmen's slang) To sell at a price less than the cost or actual value.
  7. To destroy; to kill.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Johnson to this entry?)

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

sacrifice ‎(countable and uncountable, plural sacrifices)

  1. The offering of anything to a god; consecratory rite.
    • Milton
      Great pomp, and sacrifice, and praises loud, / To Dagon.
  2. Destruction or surrender of anything for the sake of something else; devotion of some desirable object in behalf of a higher object, or to a claim deemed more pressing.
    the sacrifice of one's spare time in order to volunteer
  3. Something sacrificed.
    • Milton
      Moloch, horrid king, besmeared with blood / Of human sacrifice.
  4. (baseball) A play in which the batter is intentionally out in order that runners can advance around the bases.
  5. A loss of profit.
  6. (slang, dated) A sale at a price less than the cost or the actual value.

Translations

French

Pronunciation

Noun

sacrifice m ‎(plural sacrifices)

  1. sacrifice

Related terms

Latin

Adjective

sacrifice

  1. vocative masculine singular of sacrificus

Etymology

From Old French sacrifice, from Latin sacrificium ‎(“sacrifice”), from sacrificō ‎(“make or offer a sacrifice”), from sacer ‎(“sacred, holy”), + faciō ‎(“do, make”). Displaced Old English ansegdniss.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈsækɹɪfaɪs/

Similar Results