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sacrilege definition

sac·ri·lege (sak′rə lij′)

noun

  1. the act of appropriating to oneself or to secular use, or of violating, what is consecrated to God or religion
  2. the intentional desecration or disrespectful treatment of a person, place, thing, or idea held sacred

Etymology: ME < MFr < L sacrilegium < sacrilegus, temple robber < sacer, sacred + legere, to gather up, take away: see logic

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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