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shrine

(shrīn)

1. A place of religious devotion or commemoration, such as:

a. a place where devotion is paid to a deity or deities, as in Shinto.

b. the tomb of a saint or other venerated person.

c. a location where an important event in the life of a holy person is thought to have occurred.

2. A container or receptacle for sacred relics; a reliquary.

3. A site hallowed by association with a revered person or object or with an important event: Independence Hall, shrine of American liberty.

tr.v. shrined, shrin·ing, shrines

To enshrine.

[Middle English, reliquary, shrine, from Old English scrīn, coffer for precious objects, reliquary, from Latin scrīnium, chest or case for books or papers, of unknown origin.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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