Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition


Saint

Saint

(sānt)
,
Noun.
[F., fr. L.
sanctus
sacred, properly p. p. of
sancire
to render sacred by a religious act, to appoint as sacred; akin to
sacer
sacred. Cf.
Sacred
,
Sanctity
,
Sanctum
,
Sanctus
.]
1.
A person sanctified; a holy or godly person; one eminent for piety and virtue; any true Christian, as being redeemed and consecrated to God.
Them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be
saints
.
1 Cor. i. 2.
2.
One of the blessed in heaven.
Then shall thy
saints
, unmixed, and from the impure
Far separate, circling thy holy mount,
Unfeigned hallelujahs to thee sing.
Milton.
3.
(Eccl.)
One canonized by the church.
[Abbrev.
St.
]
Saint Andrew’s cross
.
(a)
A cross shaped like the letter X. See Illust. 4, under
Cross
.
(b)
(Bot.)
A low North American shrub (
Ascyrum Crux-Andreae
, the petals of which have the form of a Saint Andrew's cross.
Gray.
Saint Anthony's cross
,
a
T
-shaped cross. See Illust. 6, under
Cross
.
Saint Anthony's fire
,
the erysipelas; – popularly so called because it was supposed to have been cured by the intercession of Saint Anthony.
Saint Anthony's nut
(Bot.)
,
the groundnut (
Bunium flexuosum
); – so called because swine feed on it, and St. Anthony was once a swineherd.
Dr. Prior.
Saint Anthony's turnip
(Bot.)
,
the bulbous crowfoot, a favorite food of swine.
Dr. Prior.
Saint Barnaby's thistle
(Bot.)
,
a kind of knapweed (
Centaurea solstitialis
) flowering on St. Barnabas's Day, June 11th.
Dr. Prior.
Saint Bernard
(Zool.)
,
a breed of large, handsome dogs celebrated for strength and sagacity, formerly bred chiefly at the Hospice of St. Bernard in Switzerland, but now common in Europe and America. There are two races, the smooth-haired and the rough-haired. See Illust. under
Dog
.
Saint Catharine's flower
(Bot.)
,
the plant love-in-a-mist. See under
Love
.
Saint Cuthbert's beads
(Paleon.)
,
the fossil joints of crinoid stems.
Saint Dabeoc's heath
(Bot.)
,
a heatherlike plant (
Daboecia polifolia
), named from an Irish saint.
Saint Distaff's Day
.
See under
Distaff
.
Saint Elmo's fire
,
a luminous, flamelike appearance, sometimes seen in dark, tempestuous nights, at some prominent point on a ship, particularly at the masthead and the yardarms. It has also been observed on land, and is due to the discharge of electricity from elevated or pointed objects. A single flame is called a
Helena
, or a
Corposant
; a double, or twin, flame is called a
Castor and Pollux
, or a
double Corposant
. It takes its name from St. Elmo, the patron saint of sailors.
Saint George's cross
(Her.)
,
a Greek cross gules upon a field argent, the field being represented by a narrow fimbriation in the ensign, or union jack, of Great Britain.
Saint George's ensign
,
a red cross on a white field with a union jack in the upper corner next the mast. It is the distinguishing badge of ships of the royal navy of England; – called also
the white ensign
.
Brande & C.
Saint George's flag
,
a smaller flag resembling the ensign, but without the union jack; used as the sign of the presence and command of an admiral.
[Eng.]
Brande & C.
Saint Gobain glass
(Chem.)
,
a fine variety of soda-lime plate glass, so called from St. Gobain in France, where it was manufactured.
Saint Ignatius's bean
(Bot.)
,
the seed of a tree of the Philippines (
Strychnos Ignatia
), of properties similar to the nux vomica.
Saint James's shell
(Zool.)
,
a pecten (
Vola Jacobaeus
) worn by pilgrims to the Holy Land. See Illust. under
Scallop
.
Saint James's-wort
(Bot.)
,
a kind of ragwort (
Senecio Jacobaea
).
Saint John's bread
.
(Bot.)
See
Carob
.
Saint John's-wort
(Bot.)
,
any plant of the genus
Hypericum
, most species of which have yellow flowers; – called also
John's-wort
.
Saint Leger
,
the name of a race for three-year-old horses run annually in September at Doncaster, England; – instituted in 1776 by Col. St. Leger.
Saint Martin's herb
(Bot.)
,
a small tropical American violaceous plant (
Sauvagesia erecta
). It is very mucilaginous and is used in medicine.
Saint Martin's summer
,
a season of mild, damp weather frequently prevailing during late autumn in England and the Mediterranean countries; – so called from St. Martin's Festival, occurring on November 11. It corresponds to the Indian summer in America.
Shak.
Whittier.
Saint Patrick's cross
.
See Illust. 4, under
Cross
.
Saint Patrick's Day
,
the 17th of March, anniversary of the death (about 466) of St. Patrick, the apostle and patron saint of Ireland.
Saint Peter's fish
.
(Zool.)
See
John Dory
, under
John
.
Saint Peter's-wort
(Bot.)
,
a name of several plants, as
Hypericum Ascyron
,
Hypericum quadrangulum
,
Ascyrum stans
, etc.
Saint Peter's wreath
(Bot.)
,
a shrubby kind of
Spiraea
(
Spiraea hypericifolia
), having long slender branches covered with clusters of small white blossoms in spring.
Saint's bell
.
See
Sanctus bell
, under
Sanctus
.
Saint Vitus's dance
(Med.)
,
chorea; – so called from the supposed cures wrought on intercession to this saint.

Saint

(sānt)
,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Sainted
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Sainting
.]
To make a saint of; to enroll among the saints by an offical act, as of the pope; to canonize; to give the title or reputation of a saint to (some one).
A large hospital, erected by a shoemaker who has been beatified, though never
sainted
.
Addison.
To saint it
,
to act as a saint, or with a show of piety.

Whether the charmer sinner it or
saint it
.
Pope.

Saint

,
Verb.
I.
To act or live as a saint.
[R.]
Shak.

Definition 2024


Saint

Saint

See also: saint and SA Int

English

Noun

Saint (plural Saints)

  1. A title given to a saint, often prefixed to the person's name.
    "Saint Stephen was the first martyr."
  2. (sports) someone connected with any of the sports teams known as the Saints, as a fan, player, coach etc.

Translations

Synonyms

Derived terms

Anagrams

saint

saint

See also: Saint and SA Int

English

Noun

saint (plural saints)

  1. A person to whom a church or another religious group has officially attributed the title of "saint"; a holy or godly person; one eminent for piety and virtue.
    Kateri Tekakwitha was proclaimed a saint.
  2. (figuratively, by extension) A person with positive qualities; one who does good.
    Dorothy Day was a living saint.
    Thanks for looking after the house while I'm away. You're a saint!
  3. One who is sanctified or made holy; a person who is separated unto God’s service.
    to the assembly of God which is at Corinth; those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in every place, both theirs and ours. (1Cor. 1:2)
  4. One of the blessed in heaven.
    • Milton
      Then shall thy saints, unmixed, and from the impure / Far separate, circling thy holy mount, / Unfeigned hallelujahs to thee sing.
  5. (archaic) A holy object.
    It is ruine to a man to deuour saints, and afterward to retract the vowes. (Proverbs 20:25) - Douay Rheims 1635 printing

Synonyms

Translations

Related terms

See also

Verb

saint (third-person singular simple present saints, present participle sainting, simple past and past participle sainted)

  1. (nonstandard) To canonize, to formally recognize someone as a saint.
    Many wish to see Pope John Paul II sainted immediately.

Translations

Anagrams


French

Etymology

From Latin sanctus (holy)

Pronunciation

Noun

saint m (plural saints, feminine sainte)

  1. saint

Adjective

saint m (feminine singular sainte, masculine plural saints, feminine plural saintes)

  1. saintly (all meanings)

Anagrams


Irish

Noun

saint f (genitive singular sainte)

  1. greed, avarice, covetousness
  2. great eagerness, desire

Declension

Synonyms

Mutation

Irish mutation
Radical Lenition Eclipsis
saint shaint
after an, tsaint
unchanged
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every
possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Norman

Etymology

From Old French saint, from Latin sanctus (holy).

Pronunciation

Adjective

saint m

  1. (Jersey) holy

Noun

saint m (plural saints)

  1. (Jersey, religion) saint

Old French

Alternative forms

  • sanct (rare)
  • saent (rare)
  • seint (common, chiefly Anglo-Norman)

Etymology

Latin sanctus

Noun

saint m (oblique plural sainz or saintz, nominative singular sainz or saintz, nominative plural saint)

  1. saint

Declension

Adjective

saint m (oblique and nominative feminine singular sainte)

  1. holy
  2. pious; devout

Descendants