Wilson 1 Meredith Wilson Professor Amanda Chesshir Speech 1311-I91 17 October 2013 Sacred Histories English speaking countries

use sacred as an ambiguous term that describes numerous subjects ranging from dogma to music. The website, Oxford Dictionaries Online, describes sacred as, regarded with great respect and reverence by a particular religion, group, or individual, and often people use the word to describe something they feel deserves great reverence (Definition of sacred in English). It is often used in a religious context, and the meaning of sacred has changed as religion has changed in society. The following discussion will trace the history and development of the word sacred from its Proto-Indo-European roots to English usage. Because sacred is closely connected to religion, it is important to clarify the definition of religion. Dr.Owoc, an anthropologist, defines religion as a set of practices that includes both intangibleattributes such as individual or social beliefs, thoughts, and concepts as well as tangible ones like practices, actions, material culture, and space. Anthropological and archeological scholars have researched humankinds history of interacting with the material world to express their beliefs and spirituality (Owoc). The Proto-Indo-European root word sak emerged because of the human inclination to express beliefs. The Proto-Indo-European language has been reconstructed by scholars and is the ancestor to Indo-European languages, including Latin, English, and French. Proto-Indo-European language flourished during the late Neolithic period; and most scholars agree different dialects were spoken across the central and eastern portions of Europe (Indo-European Languages). The role religion played across Europe during this time is broad and complex. The need for the term sak seems to arrive from the ritual element of religion. Ritualization is described as strategies that differentiate one sort of activity from another through distinguishing practices (Owoc). Sak is part of the compound word, sakrodh t-, meaning, performer of sacred rites, (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language). Sak is used here to differentiate a person from the ordinary, because of their participation in a religious ritual. As humans who spoke Proto-Indo-European language migrated, different languages arose across Europe. The Latin language became prominent with the rise of the Roman Empire, and the root word sak evolved into the Latin word, sacrare. It meant, To consecrate, hold sacred, immortalize, set apart, (Harper). Often this word took on a spatial meaning. For instance, a temple would be considered sacri (a genitive form of sacrare) because it was created to be dedicated to a deity, and thus deserved respect (Latin languages). Later, a similar term is found in the Late Middle English language. The Late Middle English period occurred from about 1400 to 1500 in England. The word sacren was used as verb and meant, To make holy, (Harper). Because Latin influenced the Late Middle English language, it is thought that sacren is derived from the Latin word sacrare. During this period Christianity was the prominent religion, and rituals such as the Sacraments of Initiation were considered separate from secular society and holy. The core meaning of sacred continues in this time period, but is used mainly in the setting of Christian practices, which permeated all aspects of English society (Later Middle English).

Wilson 2 The word used today, sacred, appeared sometime after Modern Standard English developed in 1550. Modern Standard English was heavily influenced by Late Middle English, and became widespread with the help of the printing press. Today English has numerous dialects in many countries (Later Middle English). Sacred is still used in a religious context, but the meaning is ambiguous and depends on culture. For instance, a nonreligious, vegan person may use sacred to describe their body, yet an English speaking Hindu may describe an ancient ritual as sacred. In both cases, the speakers intend to convey a sense of deep veneration, but the object of the veneration is the variable. In conclusion, the word, sacred, has an expansive history that is interwoven with the cultural context of rituals and religion. The subjects humans describe as sacred have evolved over time, but the core meaning of the word, to describe something as deserving great veneration, has remained the same.