saint

Meanings

1. 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. 2
   noun

   A very good, kind, and patient person.

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

3. 3
   verb

   To officially declare someone a saint.

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

Common collocations

• patron saint Noun + noun

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”)).

Topics

External links

• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary
• Google Images