See Also: sanctuary(dictionary)
My Son Sanctuary(tourism)
SANCTUARY(law)
sanctuary(dictionary)
Healesville Sanctuary(tourism)
Currumbin Bird Sanctuary(tourism)
Whale Sanctuary of El Vizcaino(tourism)
Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Congonhas(tourism)
Sanctuary House Westminster(tourism)
Manas Wildlife Sanctuary(tourism)

sanctuary (iou)



sanctuary noun. Also sentuary. ME.
[Anglo-Norman sanctuarie, Old & mod. French sanctuaire from Latin sanctuarium, from sanctus holy, after SACRARIUM: see -ARY1.]
I. A holy place.
A building or place set apart for the worship of a god or gods; a church, a temple. Also (arch.), a church or body of believers; a priestly office or order. ME.
H. B. Hackett Shiloh was one of the..most sacred of the Hebrew sanctuaries. transf.: D. Brewster Admiring disciples crowded to this sanctuary of the sciences.
b. Heaven. Long rare or obsolete. LME.
a. Jewish Antiquities. In the Jewish Temple: the holy place; the holy of holies. ME.
b. The part of the chancel containing the high altar. Also, the chancel. LME.
c. gen. The innermost or most sacred part of any temple. LME.
fig.: Shelley Though ne'er yet Thou hast unveiled thy inmost sanctuary.
A shrine or box containing relics. LME-L15.
A piece of consecrated ground; a churchyard, a cemetery. Now dial. LME.
II. (A place of) protection.
a. Orig., a church or other sacred place in which, by the law of the medieval church, a fugitive or debtor was immune from arrest. Later gen., any place in which a similar immunity is granted to a fugitive; a place of refuge and safety. LME.
J. Tulloch His..house was a sanctuary to the most eminent of the factious party. Hongkong Standard The sanctuary taken by his troops comprised two large camps on..a hill.
b. Immunity from arrest or punishment, secured by taking refuge in a sanctuary; the right or privilege of such protection; shelter, refuge. LME.
Shakespeare Richard III God in heaven forbid We should infringe the holy privilege Of blessed sanctuary! J. A. Michener Seeking sanctuary from the brothers of the man he had slain.
Hunting. Protection of game etc. from being killed. rare. E17.
An area of land where wild animals or plants are protected and encouraged to breed or grow. L19.
bird sanctuary, nature sanctuary, etc.
sanctuaried adjective (rare) made into or containing a sanctuary M19.
sanctuarize verb trans. (rare) afford sanctuary to; shelter by means of a sanctuary or sacred privileges: E17.