Meanings
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1
noun
The act of giving up something valuable for the sake of something more important.
Her parents made many sacrifices so that she could go to university.
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2
verb
To give up something important in order to gain or protect something else.
He sacrificed his free time to care for his sick mother.
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3
noun
The killing of a person or animal, or the offering of an object, to a god as part of a religious rite.
The ancient temple was used for animal sacrifice.
Thesaurus
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *seh₂k- Proto-Indo-European *-rós Proto-Indo-European *sh₂krós Proto-Italic *sakros Old Latin sacros Latin sacerder. Latin sacrum Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-der. Proto-Indo-European *dʰh₁k-yé-ti Proto-Italic *θakjō Proto-Italic *fakjō Latin faciō Proto-Indo-European *-yós Proto-Italic *-ios Old Latin -ios Latin -ius Latin -ium Latin sacrificiumlbor. Old French sacrifisebor. Middle English sacrifice English sacrifice From Middle English sacrifice (“act of offering a life or object to a deity; the life or object so offered”), from Anglo-Norman sacrefiz, and Old…