shrine

S1H4R1I1N1E1
/ʃɹaɪ̯n/

noun

A holy or sacred place dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, or similar figure of awe and respect, at which said figure is venerated or worshipped.

“a shrine of art”

Similar
enshrine
OriginMiddle English shryne ← Old English scrīn ← Medieval Latin scrīnium →
Less commonScrabble 9
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Meanings

nounshrine (plural shrines)

plural shrines

  1. A holy or sacred place dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, or similar figure of awe and respect, at which said figure is venerated or worshipped.

    Entering the tunnel, we pass a small shrine above our heads which contains a statue of St Barbara, the patron saint of tunnellers. It is traditional to have such shrines on every tunnel site.

    2022 March 23, Paul Bigland, “HS2 is just 'passing through'”, in RAIL, number 953, page 41
  2. A case, box, or receptacle, especially one in which are deposited sacred relics, as the bones of a saint.
  3. figurativelyA place or object hallowed from its history or associations.

    a shrine of art

verbshrine (third-person singular simple present shrines, present participle shrining, simple past and past participle shrined)

present singular third person shrines · participle present shrining · participle past shrined · past shrined

  1. transitiveTo enshrine; to place reverently, as if in a shrine.

    Shrined in his sanctuary.

    1667, John Milton, “Book VI”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC

Synonyms & antonyms

verbenclose in a shrine

Similar
enshrine
Broader
encloseclose ininclose
Also see
enshrinehouse of worshiptemple

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*(s)ker-“to turn, bend”
  2. Medieval Latinscrīnium“reliquary”
  3. Old Englishscrīn“reliquary, ark of the covenant”
  4. Middle Englishshryne
  5. Englishshrine

From Middle English shryne, from Old English scrīn (“reliquary, ark of the covenant”), from Medieval Latin scrīnium (“reliquary”), “case or chest for books or papers” in Classical Latin. Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to turn, bend”). Compare Old Norse skrín, Old High German skrīni (German Schrein).

More words from Middle English, Old English, Medieval Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Ancient Greek ἱερόν, ἄδυτον
  • ἱερόν (hierón)a holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
  • ἄδυτον (áduton)a holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
Arabic ضَرِيح
  • ضَرِيح (ḍarīḥ)a holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
Basque santutxo
  • santutxoa holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
Bulgarian светилище, свети́ня
  • светилище (svetilište)a holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
  • свети́ня (svetínja)a holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
  • храм (hram)a holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
  • мощехранителница (moštehranitelnica)a case, box, or receptacle, especially one in which are deposited sacred relics — see also reliquary
Catalan santuari, reliquiari
  • santuaria holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
  • reliquiaria case, box, or receptacle, especially one in which are deposited sacred relics — see also reliquary
Chinese Mandarin 神社, 聖地 /圣地
  • 神社 (shénshè)a holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
  • 聖地 /圣地 (shèngdì)a holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
  • 聖堂 /圣堂 (shèngtáng)a holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
Czech svatyně
  • svatyněa holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
Danish helligdom
  • helligdoma holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
Dutch schrijn
  • schrijna holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
Esperanto adorejo, sanktejo
  • adorejoa holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
  • sanktejoa holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
  • relikvujoa case, box, or receptacle, especially one in which are deposited sacred relics — see also reliquary
  • sanktejoa case, box, or receptacle, especially one in which are deposited sacred relics — see also reliquary
Estonian pühapaik
  • pühapaika holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
Finnish pyhäkkö, pyhättö
  • pyhäkköa holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
  • pyhättöa holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
  • alttaria holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
French sanctuaire, lieu saint
  • sanctuairea holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
  • lieu sainta holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
  • châssea case, box, or receptacle, especially one in which are deposited sacred relics — see also reliquary
German Heiligtum, Schrein
  • Heiligtuma holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
  • Schreina holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
  • Grabkirchea holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
  • Heiligenkapellea holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
  • Bildstocka holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
  • Wegekreuza holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
  • Schreina case, box, or receptacle, especially one in which are deposited sacred relics — see also reliquary
Greek βωμός, ναός
  • βωμός (vomós)a holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
  • ναός (naós)a holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
  • λάρνακα (lárnaka)a case, box, or receptacle, especially one in which are deposited sacred relics — see also reliquary
  • λειψανοθήκη (leipsanothíki)a case, box, or receptacle, especially one in which are deposited sacred relics — see also reliquary
Hebrew מִקְדָּשׁ
  • מִקְדָּשׁ (mikdásh)a holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
Hindi मंदिर, दरगाह
  • मंदिर (mandir)a holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
  • दरगाह (dargāh)a holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
  • मज़ार (mazār)a holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
Hungarian kegyhely, búcsújáró hely
  • kegyhelya holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
  • búcsújáró helya holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
  • szentélya holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
Icelandic helgidómur, helgiskrín
  • helgidómura holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
  • helgiskrína case, box, or receptacle, especially one in which are deposited sacred relics — see also reliquary
Irish cumhdach
  • cumhdacha case, box, or receptacle, especially one in which are deposited sacred relics — see also reliquary
Italian reliquiario, santuario
  • reliquiarioa holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
  • santuarioa holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
  • edicolaa holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
Japanese 聖堂, 聖地
  • 聖堂 (seidō)a holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
  • 聖地 (seichi)a holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
  • 神社 (jinja)a holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
Korean 성당, 신사
  • 성당 (seongdang)a holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
  • 신사 (sinsa)a holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
Latin aedicula, delubrum
  • aediculaa holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
  • delubruma holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
  • sacelluma holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
  • aedisa holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
  • fanuma holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
  • sacrāriuma case, box, or receptacle, especially one in which are deposited sacred relics — see also reliquary
Latvian svētnīca
  • svētnīcaa holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
Lithuanian šventovė, šventvietė
  • šventovėa holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
  • šventvietėa holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
Malay kuil, keramat
  • kuila holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
  • keramata holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
Māori tūāhu, ahurewa
  • tūāhua holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
  • ahurewaa holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
Norwegian Bokmål helligdom
  • helligdoma holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
Polish świątynia, miejsce kultu
  • świątyniaa holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
  • miejsce kultua holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
  • chrama holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
Portuguese relicário, santuário
  • relicárioa holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
  • santuárioa holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
  • oratórioa holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
Romanian sanctuar, altar
  • sanctuara holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
  • altara holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
  • raclăa case, box, or receptacle, especially one in which are deposited sacred relics — see also reliquary
Russian ра́ка, святы́ня
  • ра́ка (ráka)a holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
  • святы́ня (svjatýnja)a holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
  • храм (xram)a holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
Slovak svätyňa
  • svätyňaa holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
Spanish santuario, ermita
  • santuarioa holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
  • ermitaa holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
  • relicarioa case, box, or receptacle, especially one in which are deposited sacred relics — see also reliquary
Swedish helgedom, vallfärdsplats
  • helgedoma holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
  • vallfärdsplatsa holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
  • meckaa holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
Thai ศาลเจ้า, สักการสถาน
  • ศาลเจ้า (sǎan-jâao)a holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
  • สักการสถาน (sàk-gaa-rá-sà-tǎan)a holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
  • วัด (wát)a holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
Turkish türbe, mabet
  • türbea holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
  • mabeta holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
Ukrainian ра́ка, святи́ня
  • ра́ка (ráka)a holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
  • святи́ня (svjatýnja)a holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
  • храм (xram)a holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
Urdu دَرْگاہ, مَنْدِر
  • دَرْگاہ (dargāh)a holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
  • مَنْدِر (mandir)a holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
  • مَزار (mazār)a holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
Vietnamese lăng, mộ
  • lănga holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
  • mộa holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
  • đềna holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
  • điệna holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
  • linh địaa holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect
Welsh cysegrfan
  • cysegrfana holy place dedicated to a specific figure of respect

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with shrine

onlinelinedesignsignfinewinedefineminenineofflinepinecombinerefinedeclinedivineinlineKleinassignalignspineeinsteinsteinvinetyne
All rhymes →

Anagrams

shinerrenshi
Cite this entry
APA

shrine. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shrine

MLA

“shrine.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shrine. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “shrine,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shrine.

Source: shrine on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.