Word of the Day

: November 8, 2009

sacerdotal

adjective sass-er-DOH-tul

What It Means

1 : of or relating to priests or a priesthood : priestly

2 : of, relating to, or suggesting religious belief emphasizing the powers of priests as essential mediators between God and mankind

sacerdotal in Context

It surprised Jim whenever Father Thomas would shed his sacerdotal role to take up a secular topic of conversation such as contemporary rock music.

Did You Know?

"Sacerdotal" is one of a host of English words derived from the Latin adjective "sacer," meaning "sacred." Other words derived from "sacer" include "desecrate," "sacrifice," "sacrilege," "consecrate," "sacrament," and even "execrable" (developed from the Latin word "exsecrari," meaning "to put under a curse"). One unlikely "sacer" descendant is "sacrum," referring to the series of five vertebrae in the lower back connected to the pelvis. In Latin this bone was called the "os sacrum," or "holy bone," a translation of the Greek "hieron osteon."