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To render not sacred; to deprive of sanctity; to desecrate. [Obs.] South.

ses, or as a symbol of consecration; as, mercurial unction. To be heir, and to be king By sacred unction, thy deserved right. Milton.

oom of any kind; esp., one under a church (see Crypt), or one used as a chapel or for any sacred purpose.

n or a declaration; the court understands the advocate or his argument; to understand the sacred oracles; to understand a nod or a wink. Speaketh [i. e., speak thou] so plain at this time, I you pray, That we may understande what ye say. Chaucer. I understand not what you mean by this. Shak. Understood not all was but…

l, comic, or burlesque character, sent on St. Valentine's Day. St. Valentine's Day, a day sacred to St. Valentine; the 14th of February. It was a very old notion, alluded to by Shakespeare, that on this day birds begin to mate. Hence, perhaps, arose the custom of sending love tokens at that time.

The ancient sacred literature of the Hindoos; also, one of the four collections, called Rig-Veda, Yajur-Veda, Sama-Veda, and Atharva-Veda, constituting the most ancient portions of that literature.

Rendered sacred by religious or other associations; that should be regarded with awe and treated with reverence; as, the venerable walls of a temple or a church.

; to reverence; to revere; as, we venerate parents and elders. And seemed to venerate the sacred shade. Dryden. I do not know a man more to be venerated for uprightness of heart and loftiness of genius. Sir W. Scott.

; a feeling or sentimental excited by the dignity, wisdom, or superiority of a person, by sacredness of character, by consecration to sacred services, or by hallowed associations. We find a secret awe and veneration for one who moves about us in regular and illustrious course of virtue. Addison.

A virgin consecrated to Vesta, and to the service of watching the sacred fire, which was to be perpetually kept burning upon her altar.

A room appendant to a church, in which sacerdotal vestments and sacred utensils are sometimes kept, and where meetings for worship or parish business are held; a sacristy; -- formerly called revestiary. He said unto him that was over the vestry, Bring forth vestments for all the worshipers of Baal. 2 Kings x. 22.…

hing; dress; apparel; vestment; covering; envelope. Piers Plowman. Approach, and kiss her sacred vesture's hem. Milton. Rocks, precipices, and gulfs, appareled with a vesture of plants. Bentley. There polished chests embroidered vestures graced. Pope.

To do violence to, as to anything that should be held sacred or respected; to profane; to desecrate; to break forcibly; to trench upon; to infringe. Violated vows 'Twixt the souls of friend and friend. Shak. Oft have they violated The temple, oft the law, with foul affronts. Milton.

An act of irreverence or desecration; profanation or contemptuous treatment of sacred things; as, the violation of a church. Udall.

A dangerous, treacherous, or malignant person. Who committed To such a viper his most sacred trust Of secrecy. Milton. Horned viper. (Zoöl.) See Cerastes. -- Red viper (Zoöl.), the copperhead. -- Viper fish (Zoöl.), a small, slender, phosphorescent deep-sea fish (Chauliodus Sloanii). It has long ventral and dorsal fi…

azarite." Milton. I pray thee, let me go and pay my vow. 2 Sam. xv. 7. I am combined by a sacred vow. Shak.

or piece of bread (commonly unleavened, circular, and stamped with a crucifix or with the sacred monogram) used in the Eucharist, as in the Roman Catholic Church.

ened the world. Roscommon. Venus now wakes, and wakens love. Milton. They introduce Their sacred song, and waken raptures high. Milton.

An issue of water from the earth; a spring; a fountain. Begin, then, sisters of the sacred well. Milton.

-- applied especially to the Scriptures, or the books of the Old and New testaments; as, sacred writ. "Though in Holy Writ not named." Milton. Then to his hands that writ he did betake, Which he disclosing read, thus as the paper spake. Spenser. Babylon, so much spoken of in Holy Writ. Knolles.