Etymology

sanctus

S1A1N1C3T1U1S1

Today it means: A prayer in Christian liturgy, beginning “Holy, holy, holy …” and typically said or sung as a hymn shortly before the anaphora. Full definition →

Latin sānctus
Ask AI about its historyChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

The story

  1. Latin · borrowed fromsānctus“holy”
  2. English todaySanctus

Borrowed from Latin sānctus (“holy”), the opening word of the prayer in that language. The prayer is taken from Isaiah 6:3 and Matthew 21:9. Doublet of saint.

Words from the same roots

Latinsānctus all →

saintsanctuarySantiagosanctifysanctanimitysanctus bellsanquette

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.