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Added 3 October 2026

saint

/seɪnt/ noun

In Latin: sānctus Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about saint at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A person who has died and has been declared a saint by canonization.
Person of exceptional holiness.
Model of excellence or perfection of a kind; one having no equal.

verb

Hold sacred.
Declare (a dead person) to be a saint.
After he was shown to have performed a miracle, the priest was canonized

Origin

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”)).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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