English Online Dictionary. What means saint? What does saint mean?
English
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 sanctus (“holy, consecrated”, in Late Latin as a noun, “a saint”), past participle of sancire (“to render sacred, make holy”), akin to sacer (“holy, sacred”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /seɪnt/
- Rhymes: -eɪnt
- (UK, as an unstressed, capitalised title) IPA(key): /sən(t)/, /sɨn(t)/
Noun
saint (plural saints)
- A person whom a church or another religious group has officially recognised as especially holy or godly; one eminent for piety and virtue.
- Kateri Tekakwitha was proclaimed a saint.
- (figuratively, by extension) A person with positive qualities; one who does good.
- Dorothy Day was a living saint.
- Thanks for looking after the house while I'm away. You're a saint!
- One who is sanctified or made holy; a person who is separated unto God’s service.
- (Can we date this quote?) Bible 1Cor. 1:2
- to the assembly of God which is at Corinth; those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in every place, both theirs and ours.
- (Can we date this quote?) Bible 1Cor. 1:2
- One of the blessed in heaven.
- (Can we date this quote?) John Milton
- Then shall thy saints, unmixed, and from the impure / Far separate, circling thy holy mount, / Unfeigned hallelujahs to thee sing.
- (Can we date this quote?) John Milton
- (archaic) A holy object.
- (Can we date this quote?) Douay Rheims Bible, Proverbs 20:25, 1635 printing
- It is ruine to a man to deuour saints, and afterward to retract the vowes.
Synonyms
- (holy person): hallow (obsolete)
Derived terms
Translations
See also
- hallow
- holos
- holy
Verb
saint (third-person singular simple present saints, present participle sainting, simple past and past participle sainted)
- (nonstandard) To canonize, to formally recognize someone as a saint.
- Many wish to see Pope John Paul II sainted immediately.
Translations
Further reading
- saint in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
- saint in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
Anagrams
- Astin, Insta, Santi, Sinta, Tanis, Tians, antis, insta-, sat in, satin, stain, stian, tians, tisan
French
Etymology
From Latin sanctus (“holy”)
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /sɛ̃/
- Rhymes: -ɛ̃
- Homophones: sain, sains, saints, sein, seing, seings, seins
Noun
saint m (plural saints, feminine sainte)
- saint
Adjective
saint (feminine singular sainte, masculine plural saints, feminine plural saintes)
- saintly (all meanings)
Further reading
- “saint” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).
Anagrams
- tians
Irish
Etymology
Noun
saint f (genitive singular sainte)
- greed, avarice, covetousness
- great eagerness, desire
Declension
Synonyms
- cíocras, gabhálacht (“avarice”)
Mutation
Norman
Etymology
From Old French saint, from Latin sanctus (“holy”).
Pronunciation
Adjective
saint m
- (Jersey) holy
Noun
saint m (plural saints)
- (Jersey, religion) saint
Old French
Alternative forms
- sanct (rare)
- saent (rare)
- seint (common, chiefly Anglo-Norman)
Etymology
Latin sanctus
Noun
saint m (oblique plural sainz or saintz, nominative singular sainz or saintz, nominative plural saint)
- saint
Declension
Adjective
saint m (oblique and nominative feminine singular sainte)
- holy
- pious; devout
Descendants
- English: saint (borrowed)
- French: saint
- Norman: saint (Jersey)
Welsh
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /sai̯nt/
Noun
saint m pl
- plural of sant