auto-da-fé Hear it!

auto-da-fé Definition

auto-da-fé (ôt′ō də fā′, o̵ut′-)

noun pl. au′tos-da-fé′

  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

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