sacrosanctus

Latin

Alternative forms

• sacrō sānctus

Etymology

From the ablative of sacrum (“holy, sacred object, place or act”) +‎ sānctus (“consecrated, sacred”). Both elements ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *seh₂k- (“to make a pact; to make sacred”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /sa.kroːˈsaːnk.tus/, [s̠äkroːˈs̠äːŋkt̪ʊs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /sa.kroˈsank.tus/, [säkroˈs̬äŋkt̪us]

Adjective

sacrōsānctus (feminine sacrōsāncta, neuter sacrōsānctum); first/second-declension adjective

1. inaugurated or consecrated with religious ceremonies
2. fixed or decreed as inviolable, sacred, sacrosanct
3. (by extension) most holy, sacred or venerable

Declension

First/second-declension adjective.

	singular				plural
	masculine	feminine	neuter		masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	sacrōsānctus	sacrōsāncta	sacrōsānctum		sacrōsānctī	sacrōsānctae	sacrōsāncta
genitive	sacrōsānctī	sacrōsānctae	sacrōsānctī		sacrōsānctōrum	sacrōsānctārum	sacrōsānctōrum
dative	sacrōsānctō	sacrōsānctae	sacrōsānctō		sacrōsānctīs
accusative	sacrōsānctum	sacrōsānctam	sacrōsānctum		sacrōsānctōs	sacrōsānctās	sacrōsāncta
ablative	sacrōsānctō	sacrōsānctā	sacrōsānctō		sacrōsānctīs
vocative	sacrōsāncte	sacrōsāncta	sacrōsānctum		sacrōsānctī	sacrōsānctae	sacrōsāncta

Related terms

• sacer
• sacerdōs
• sacerdōtālis
• sacerdōtium
• sacerdōtula
• sacrāmentālis
• sacrāmentum
• sacrārium
• sacrārius
• sacrātē
• sacrātiō
• sacrātor
• sacricola
• sacrifer
• sacrificālis
• sacrificātiō
• sacrificātor
• sacrificātus
• sacrificiolus
• sacrificium
• sacrificō
• sacrificulus
• sacrificus
• sacrilegē
• sacrilegium
• sacrilegus
• sacrō
• sacrum

 

Descendants

All are (partially adapted) borrowings.

• Catalan: sacrosant
• English: sacrosanct
• French: sacro-saint
• Italian: sacrosanto
• Portuguese: sacrossanto
• Romanian: sacrosanct
• Sicilian: sagrosantu, sagrusantu, sacrusantu
  • → Maltese: sagrosant
• Spanish: sacrosanto

References

• “sacrosanctus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “sacrosanctus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• sacrosanctus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • the plebeian tribunes, whose persons are inviolable: tribuni plebis sacrosancti (Liv. 3. 19. 10)