saint

C1 Topic:People & Society

US /seɪnt/ UK /sɛnt/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like scent /ɛ/ vs /eɪ/ Sounds like cent /ɛ/ vs /eɪ/

Freq #2677

Meanings

1

noun
A dead person officially recognised by a church as especially holy.

The church declared her a saint many years after her death.
2

noun
A very good, kind, and patient person.

You're a saint for helping me move all these boxes.
3

verb
To officially declare someone a saint.

Many people hoped the pope would be sainted soon after his death.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

3 verb · to officially declare... canonize

More hallow

Word family

Forms saints

Derived forms besaintblacke-saintfool-saintnarco-saintsaint-lambertsaint-mauricesaintdomsaintesssaintfulsaintheadsainthoodsaintish

Related forms hallow holysanta

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

patron saint
a saint regarded as a special protector of a group, place, or activity

Noun + noun

Proverbs (1)

See all

The greater the sinner, the greater the saint

Simplified etymology

Saint entered Middle English through Old French from Latin sanctus “holy.” The same Latin family produced sanctify, sanctity, sanctimonious, sanctuary, and, through the related verb sancire, sanction.

Etymology

From Middle English saint, seint, sainct, seinct, sanct, senct, partly from Old English sanct (“saint”) and confluence with Old French saint, seinte (Modern French saint); both from Latin sānctus (“holy, consecrated”, in Late Latin as a noun, “a saint”), past participle of sancīre (“to render sacred, make holy”), akin to sacer (“holy, sacred”). Doublet of Sanctus. Displaced native Middle English halwe (“saint”) from Old English hālga (“saint, holy one”) (> Modern English hallow (“saint”)).

saint Middle English sanct Old English sānctus Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

People & Society

External links

# saint

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /seɪnt/
**IPA (UK):** /sɛnt/
**Frequency rank:** 2677

## Meanings
1. A dead person officially recognised by a church as especially holy.
2. A very good, kind, and patient person.
3. To officially declare someone a saint.

## Examples
- The church declared her a saint many years after her death.
- You're a saint for helping me move all these boxes.
- Many people hoped the pope would be sainted soon after his death.

## Synonyms
- hallow

## Derived Forms
- besaint
- blacke-saint
- fool-saint
- narco-saint
- saint-lambert
- saint-maurice
- saintdom
- saintess
- saintful
- sainthead
- sainthood
- saintish

## Related Forms
- hallow
- holy
- santa

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: saint
- Root: sanct
- Root: sānctus

## Etymology
From Middle English saint, seint, sainct, seinct, sanct, senct, partly from Old English sanct (“saint”) and confluence with Old French saint, seinte (Modern French saint); both from Latin sānctus (“holy, consecrated”, in Late Latin as a noun, “a saint”), past participle of sancīre (“to render sacred, make holy”), akin to sacer (“holy, sacred”). Doublet of Sanctus. Displaced native Middle English halwe (“saint”) from Old English hālga (“saint, holy one”) (> Modern English hallow (“saint”)).

## AI Etymology
Saint comes from Middle English saint, seint, sainct, seinct, sanct, senct, partly from Old English sanct (“saint”) and confluence with Old French saint, seinte (Modern French saint); both from Latin sānctus (“holy, consecrated”, in Late Latin as a noun, “a saint”), past participle of sancīre (“to render sacred, make holy”), akin to sacer (“holy, sacred”). Doublet of Sanctus. Displaced native Middle English halwe (“saint”) from Old English hālga (“saint, holy one”) (> Modern English hallow (“saint”)). The historical chain includes saint (Middle English), sanct (Old English), saint (Old French), and sānctus (Latin). The surrounding word family includes derived forms such as besaint, blacke-saint, fool-saint, and narco-saint and related forms such as hallow, holy, and santa. In present use it covers a dead person officially recognised by a church as especially holy, a very good, kind, and patient person, and to officially declare someone a saint.

## Topics
- People & Society

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