| 释义 |
▪ I. desecrate, v.|ˈdɛsɪkreɪt|
[f. de- II. 1 + stem of con-secrate. In L. dēsecrāre or dēsacrāre meant to consecrate, dedicate. OF. had des-sacrer (des- = L. dis-) still in Cotgr. (1611) ‘to profane, violate, unhallow’, = It. dissacrare ‘to unconsecrate, unhallow’ (Florio); these may have suggested the formation of the English word.]
trans. To take away its consecrated or sacred character from (anything); to treat as not sacred or hallowed; to profane.
a1677Barrow Serm. Wks. 1687 I. xv. 213 If we do venture to swear..upon any slight or vain..occasion, we then desecrate Swearing, and are guilty of profaning a most sacred Ordinance. [Not in Phillips, Cocker, Kersey.] 1675[see desecrating ppl. a.]. 1721Bailey, Desecrate, to defile or unhallow. 1741Middleton Cicero I. vi. 416 What Licinia had dedicated..could not be considered as sacred: so that the Senate injoined the Prætor to see it desecrated and to efface whatever had been inscribed upon it. 1776Horne On Ps. lxxiv. (R.) When the soul sinks under a temptation, the dwelling-place of God's name is desecrated to the ground. 1837J. H. Newman Par. Serm. (ed. 2) III. xxi. 333 More plausibly even might we desecrate Sunday. 1860Pusey Min. Proph. 204 The..vessels of the Temple..were desecrated by being employed in idol-worship.
b. To divert from a sacred to a profane purpose; to dedicate or devote to something evil.
1825Blackw. Mag. XVIII. 156 With a libation of unmixed water..did he devote us to the infernal gods—or..desecrate us to the Furies. 1849Sir J. Stephen Eccl. Biog. (1850) I. 312 Particular spots..were desecrated to Satan. 1860Pusey Min. Proph. 76 Desecrating to false worship the place which had been consecrated by the revelation of the true God.
c. To dismiss or degrade from holy orders. arch.
1674Blount Glossogr., Desecrate, to discharge of his orders, to degrade. 1676in Coles. c1800W. Tooke Russia (W.), The [Russian] clergy can not suffer corporal punishment without being previously desecrated.
▪ II. ˈdesecrate, ppl. a. rare.
= desecrated.
1873Browning Red Cotton Night-Cap Country 934 Than that her dignity be desecrate By neighbourhood of vulgar table. |