Saint Meaning
/seɪnt/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA deceased person whom a church or another religious group has officially recognised as especially holy or godly; one eminent for piety and virtue.
nounOne of the blessed in heaven.
Sentence Examples
It would provoke a saint.
Many people visited the shrine where the saint lay buried.
CEFR Practice Quiz
Because of her lifelong devotion and many miracles, the church declared her a ____.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The cathedral was dedicated to the patron ____ of the city and drew thousands of pilgrims.
Word Origin & History
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”)).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Then ſhall thy Saints unmixt, and from th' impure / Farr ſeparate, circling thy holy Mount / Unfained Halleluiahs to thee ſing,"
— 1667, John Milton, “Book VI”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC, lines 742–744:
"Unto the Church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Iesus, called to be Saints, with all that in euery place call vpon the Name of Iesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours."
— 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 1 Corinthians 1:2:
"It is ruine to a man to deuoure ſaintes, and afterward to retracte the vowes."
— 1610, The Second Tome of the Holie Bible, […] (Douay–Rheims Bible), Doway: Laurence Kellam, […], →OCLC, Prouerbes 20:25, page 299:
"They settled in Kaw Township, a dozen miles from Independence, becoming the first Saints to be resettled in the newly designated Zion."
— 2011, Terryl L. Givens, Matthew J. Grow, Parley P. Pratt: The Apostle Paul of Mormonism, →ISBN, page 53:
"The project’s goal was to “fortify the faith of the Saints,” he said, “while at the same time paying attention to hard things.”"
— 2018 September 2, Peggy Fletcher Stack, Scott D. Pierce, “Mormon church publishes its first official history in nearly a century, and the result is an easy-to-read volume that tackles some hard facts”, in The Salt Lake Tribune:
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CEFR Practice Quiz
Because of her lifelong devotion and many miracles, the church declared her a ____.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The cathedral was dedicated to the patron ____ of the city and drew thousands of pilgrims.