- Sacrifice
- Sacrifice Sac"ri*fice (?; 277), v. t. [imp. & p. p.
{Sacrificed}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Sacrificing}.] [From
{Sacrifice}, n.: cf. F. sacrifier, L. sacrificare; sacer
sacred, holy + -ficare (only in comp.) to make. See {-fy}.]
1. To make an offering of; to consecrate or present to a
divinity by way of expiation or propitiation, or as a
token acknowledgment or thanksgiving; to immolate on the
altar of God, in order to atone for sin, to procure favor,
or to express thankfulness; as, to sacrifice an ox or a
sheep.
[1913 Webster]
Oft sacrificing bullock, lamb, or kid. --Milton. [1913 Webster]
2. Hence, to destroy, surrender, or suffer to be lost, for the sake of obtaining something; to give up in favor of a higher or more imperative object or duty; to devote, with loss or suffering. [1913 Webster]
Condemned to sacrifice his childish years To babbling ignorance, and to empty fears. --Prior. [1913 Webster]
The Baronet had sacrificed a large sum . . . for the sake of . . . making this boy his heir. --G. Eliot. [1913 Webster]
3. To destroy; to kill. --Johnson. [1913 Webster]
4. To sell at a price less than the cost or the actual value. [Tradesmen's Cant] [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
