auto-da-fé

(ôt′ō də fā, o̵ut-)

noun pl.

  1. the public ceremony in which the Inquisition pronounced judgment and passed sentence on those tried as heretics
  2. the execution by the secular power of the sentence thus passed; esp., the public burning of a heretic

Origin: Port, lit., act of the faith < auto (< L actus, act) + da, of the + ( < L fides, faith)

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