Meanings
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA large triangular bone at the base of the spine, located between the two ilia (wings of the pelvis) and formed from vertebrae that fuse in adulthood.
Origin
- Ancient Greekἱερὸν ὀστέον
- Latinos sacrum“holy bone”
- Englishsacrum
From Latin os sacrum (“holy bone”), a calque of Ancient Greek ἱερὸν ὀστέον (hieròn ostéon). Apparently so called either because the sacrum was the part of the animal offered in sacrifice or because of a putative belief that it is where a person's soul resides. A third explanation is that the term is a translation of Ancient Greek ἱερόν (hierón), which has two meanings: “holy, sacred”, and “big” — big being a more appropriate description of the sacrum — but compare.
More words from Latin, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic عَجُزِ
- عَجُزِ (ʕajuzi)bone at the base of the spine
Bulgarian кръст, кръстна кост
- кръст (krăst)bone at the base of the spine
- кръстна кост (krăstna kost)bone at the base of the spine
Catalan sacre
- sacrebone at the base of the spine
Chinese Mandarin 骶骨
- 骶骨 (dǐgǔ)bone at the base of the spine
Czech kost křížová, kříž
- kost křížovábone at the base of the spine
- křížbone at the base of the spine
Dutch heiligbeen
- heiligbeenbone at the base of the spine
Finnish ristiluu
- ristiluubone at the base of the spine
French sacrum
- sacrumbone at the base of the spine
German Kreuzbein
- Kreuzbeinbone at the base of the spine
Greek ιερό οστό
- ιερό οστό (ieró ostó)bone at the base of the spine
Hebrew עצם העָצֶה
- עצם העָצֶהbone at the base of the spine
Hungarian keresztcsont
- keresztcsontbone at the base of the spine
Icelandic spjaldbein, spjaldliðir
- spjaldbeinbone at the base of the spine
- spjaldliðirbone at the base of the spine
- spjaldhryggurbone at the base of the spine
Irish sacram
- sacrambone at the base of the spine
Italian osso sacro
- osso sacrobone at the base of the spine
Japanese 仙骨, 薦骨
- 仙骨 (senkotsu)bone at the base of the spine
- 薦骨 (senkotsu)bone at the base of the spine
Korean 엉치뼈, 천골
- 엉치뼈 (eongchippyeo)bone at the base of the spine
- 천골 (cheon'gol)bone at the base of the spine
Māori poroiwi, tikitona
- poroiwibone at the base of the spine
- tikitonabone at the base of the spine
- tirakibone at the base of the spine
- tikibone at the base of the spine
Persian استخوان خاجی
- استخوان خاجیbone at the base of the spine
Polish krzyż, kość krzyżowa
- krzyżbone at the base of the spine
- kość krzyżowabone at the base of the spine
Portuguese sacro
- sacrobone at the base of the spine
Russian кресте́ц
- кресте́ц (krestéc)bone at the base of the spine
Spanish sacro, hueso sacro
- sacrobone at the base of the spine
- hueso sacrobone at the base of the spine
Swedish korsben
- korsbenbone at the base of the spine
Tagalog kuyukot
- kuyukotbone at the base of the spine
Turkish sakrum
- sakrumbone at the base of the spine
Ukrainian крижі
- крижі (kryži)bone at the base of the spine
Vietnamese xương mông
- xương môngbone at the base of the spine
Welsh sacrwm, asgwrn y cwman
- sacrwmbone at the base of the spine
- asgwrn y cwmanbone at the base of the spine
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
sacrum. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sacrum
“sacrum.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sacrum. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sacrum,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sacrum.
Source: sacrum on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.