Meanings
comparative more sacramental · superlative most sacramental
- Used in, or relating to, a sacrament.
The altar boys got in trouble after they were caught sampling the sacramental wine instead of just passing it to the priest before communion.
plural sacramentals
- CatholicismAn object (such as holy water or a crucifix) or an action (such as making the sign of the cross) which is regarded as encouraging devotion and thus spiritually aiding the person who uses it.
The activities in this strategy immerse the young people in the many sacramentals that are part of the daily, weekly, and seasonal Catholic individual and communal religious expressions.
2000, Michael Theisen, Exploring Catholicism, page 172 more examples
But under the twofold pressure of solafideism’s rejection of "good works" for the sake of merit and sola scriptura’s denial of anything not explicitly mentioned in the Bible, sacramentals such as images, relics, blessings, and pilgrimages became the objects of the dissenters' most bitter condemnation and scorn.
1997, James Monti, The king's good servant but God's firstThe Sacramentals. Besides the holy sacraments there are things which the Church blesses in order that by the pious use of them the Christian may obtain from God temporal benefits and spiritual health. Now as these things bear a certain resemblance to the sacraments, they are called sacramentals.
1898, Hermann Rolfus, Illustrated explanation of the holy sacraments, page 294
Origin
- Ecclesiastical Latinsacrāmentālis
- Old Frenchsacramental
- Englishsacramental
From Old French sacramental, from Ecclesiastical Latin sacrāmentālis.
More words from Old French, Ecclesiastical Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Catalan sacramental
- sacramentalused in, or relating to, a sacrament
Esperanto sakramentalo
- sakramentaloan object or action which spiritually aids its faithful users
French sacramental
- sacramentalan object or action which spiritually aids its faithful users
German Sakramentale
- Sakramentalean object or action which spiritually aids its faithful users
Korean 준성사
- 준성사 (junseongsa)an object or action which spiritually aids its faithful users
Polish sakramentalny, sakramentalia
- sakramentalnyused in, or relating to, a sacrament
- sakramentaliaan object or action which spiritually aids its faithful users
Spanish sacramental, sacramental
- sacramentalused in, or relating to, a sacrament
- sacramentalan object or action which spiritually aids its faithful users
Swedish sakramentalier
- sakramentalieran object or action which spiritually aids its faithful users
Vietnamese á bí tích
- á bí tíchan object or action which spiritually aids its faithful users
Cite this entry
sacramental. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sacramental
“sacramental.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sacramental. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sacramental,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sacramental.
Source: sacramental on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.