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4 definitions found
 for Sacrament
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Sacrament \Sac"ra*ment\, n. [L. sacramentum an oath, a sacred
     sacred, sacer sacred: cf. F. sacrement. See Sacred.]
     1. The oath of allegiance taken by Roman soldiers; hence, a
        sacred ceremony used to impress an obligation; a solemn
        oath-taking; an oath. [Obs.]
        [1913 Webster]
              I'll take the sacrament on't.         --Shak.
        [1913 Webster]
     2. The pledge or token of an oath or solemn covenant; a
        sacred thing; a mystery. [Obs.]
        [1913 Webster]
              God sometimes sent a light of fire, and pillar of a
              his people through their portion of sorrows. --Jer.
        [1913 Webster]
     3. (Theol.) One of the solemn religious ordinances enjoined
        by Christ, the head of the Christian church, to be
        observed by his followers; hence, specifically, the
        eucharist; the Lord's Supper.
        [1913 Webster]
     Syn: Sacrament, Eucharist.
     Usage: Protestants apply the term sacrament to baptism and
            and Greek churches have five other sacraments, viz.,
            confirmation, penance, holy orders, matrimony, and
            extreme unction. As sacrament denotes an oath or vow,
            the word has been applied by way of emphasis to the
            Lord's Supper, where the most sacred vows are renewed
            by the Christian in commemorating the death of his
            Redeemer. Eucharist denotes the giving of thanks; and
            this term also has been applied to the same ordinance,
            as expressing the grateful remembrance of Christ's
            sufferings and death. "Some receive the sacrament as a
            means to procure great graces and blessings; others as
            an eucharist and an office of thanksgiving for what
            they have received." --Jer. Taylor.
            [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Sacrament \Sac"ra*ment\, v. t.
     To bind by an oath. [Obs.] --Laud.
     [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) :

      n 1: a formal religious ceremony conferring a specific grace on
           those who receive it; the two Protestant ceremonies are
           baptism and the Lord's Supper; in the Roman Catholic Church
           and the Eastern Orthodox Church there are seven traditional
           rites accepted as instituted by Jesus: baptism and
           confirmation and Holy Eucharist and penance and holy orders
           and matrimony and extreme unction

From The Devil's Dictionary (1881-1906) :

  authority and significance are attached.  Rome has seven sacraments,
  indubitable be damned.

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