LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
adjectivefirst/second-declension adjective

sacrilegus1

sacrilegus (feminine sacrilega, neuter sacrilegum, adverb sacrilegē)
Classical[saˈkrɪ.ɫɛ.ɡʊs]Ecclesiastical[saˈkriː.le.ɡus]

Meaning

  1. adjectiveThat steals sacred things or robs a temple; sacrilegious.
  2. adjectiveThat violates or profanes sacred things; impious, godless, profane, sacrilegious.

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

Declension

singular
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativesacrilegussacrilegasacrilegum
genitivesacrilegīsacrilegaesacrilegī
dativesacrilegōsacrilegaesacrilegō
accusativesacrilegumsacrilegamsacrilegum
ablativesacrilegōsacrilegāsacrilegō
vocativesacrilegesacrilegasacrilegum
plural
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativesacrilegīsacrilegaesacrilega
genitivesacrilegōrumsacrilegārumsacrilegōrum
dativesacrilegīssacrilegīssacrilegīs
accusativesacrilegōssacrilegāssacrilega
ablativesacrilegīssacrilegīssacrilegīs
vocativesacrilegīsacrilegaesacrilega

să_crĭlĕgus, a, um, adj. sacer-lego,
I. that steals sacred things, that robs a temple, sacrilegious: sacrilegas admovere manus, Liv. 29, 18: altare sacrilegum, Vulg. Jos. 22, 16; cf.: quorum templis et religionibus iste bellum sacrilegum habuit indictum, Cic. Verr. 2, 5, 72, § 188.—As subst. (so usually): să_crĭlĕgus, i, m., one who robs or steals from a temple, one who commits sacrilege: sacrilego poena est, neque ei soli, qui sacrum abstulerit, sed etiam ei, qui sacro commendatum, Cic. Leg. 2, 16, 40: non sacrilegum, sed hostem sacrorum religionumque, Cic. Verr. 2, 1, 3, § 9: an sacrilegus, qui, ut hostes urbe expelleret, arma templo affixa detraxit? Quint. 5, 10, 36; cf. id. 3, 6, 38; 3, 6, 41; 4, 2, 68 (v. sacrilegium init.): cavendum ne fortiori subjungatur aliquid infirmius, ut sacrilego fur, Quint. 9, 4, 23: punit furta sacrilegus, Sen. Ira, 2, 28, 8; Vulg. Act. 19, 37.—
II. Transf., in gen., that violates or profanes sacred things, sacrilegious, impious, profane (freq. since the Aug. per.).
a. Adj.: hominem perditum Miserumque, et illum sacrilegum, Ter. Eun. 3, 1, 29; Ov. M. 4, 23; cf.: o genera sacrilega! Ter. Ad. 3, 2, 6: quorum civis Romanus nemo erat sed Graeci sacrilegi, Cic. Verr. 2, 3, 28, § 69: sacrilegos ignes admovere templis, Tib. 3, 5, 11: manus, id. 2, 4, 26; Hor. C. 2, 13, 2; Ov. F. 3, 700; id. Am. 1, 7, 28: dextra, id. M. 14, 539: meretricum artes, id. A. A. 1, 435: nefas (Catilinae), Mart. 9, 70, 2: hami (on account of the preceding sacris piscibus), id. 4, 30, 12.— Sup.: exi e fano, sacrilegissime, Plaut. Rud. 3, 4, 1.—
b. Subst., an impious, wicked, or profane person: parricida, sacrilege, perjure, etc., Plaut. Ps. 1, 3, 129; Ter. Ad. 2, 4, 1; id. Eun. 5, 3, 2; 5, 3, 13; Sall. C. 14, 3; Ov. M. 8, 792; 8, 817.—With gen.: nuptiarum, i. e. a violator of marriage vows, an adulterer, Cod. Just. 9, 9, 29 fin.—In fem.: să_crĭlĕga, ae, Ter. Eun. 5, 1, 13; Ov. M. 11, 41.—Adv.: să_crĭlĕgē, sacrilegiously, impiously (late Lat.), Tert. Apol. 12.

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*seh₂k-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*sh₂krós
  3. Proto-Italic*sakros
  4. Archaic Latinsakros
  5. Old Latinsacros
  6. Old Latin*sakr̥s
  7. Old Latin*sakerr
  8. Latinsacrilegus

Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- Proto-Indo-European *-eti Proto-Indo-European *léǵeti Proto-Italic *legō Latin legō Proto-Indo-European *-ós Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *-ós Proto-Indo-European *-ós Proto-Indo-European *-ós Proto-Indo-European *-ós Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Italic *-os Archaic Latin -os Latin -us Latin -legus Latin sacrilegus From sacer (“holy, sacred”) + -legus (suffix indicating a gathering role).

In English words that came into English from sacrilegus

  • sacrilegesacrilegium
noun · masculinesecond declension
sacrilegus2
sacrilegus m (genitive sacrilegī)
Classical[saˈkrɪ.ɫɛ.ɡʊs]Ecclesiastical[saˈkriː.le.ɡus]

Meaning

  1. masculineSomeone who robs or steals from a temple or commits sacrilege.
  2. masculineA wicked, impious, or profane person.

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativesacrilegussacrilegī
genitivesacrilegīsacrilegōrum
dativesacrilegōsacrilegīs
accusativesacrilegumsacrilegōs
ablativesacrilegōsacrilegīs
vocativesacrilegesacrilegī

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*seh₂k-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*sh₂krós
  3. Proto-Italic*sakros
  4. Archaic Latinsakros
  5. Old Latinsacros
  6. Old Latin*sakr̥s
  7. Old Latin*sakerr
  8. Latinsacrilegus

Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- Proto-Indo-European *-eti Proto-Indo-European *léǵeti Proto-Italic *legō Latin legō Proto-Indo-European *-ós Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *-ós Proto-Indo-European *-ós Proto-Indo-European *-ós Proto-Indo-European *-ós Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Italic *-os Archaic Latin -os Latin -us Latin -legus Latin sacrilegus From sacer (“holy, sacred”) + -legus (suffix indicating a gathering role).

Descendants
  • Catalansacríleg
  • Frenchsacrilège
  • Italiansacrilego
  • Portuguesesacrílego
  • Romaniansacrileg
  • Spanishsacrílego
  • Galiciansacrílego

Quick answers

What does sacrilegus mean in Latin?
sacrilegus, a adjective, means “That steals sacred things or robs a temple; sacrilegious.; That violates or profanes sacred things”.
How do you pronounce sacrilegus?
In classical Latin, [saˈkrɪ.ɫɛ.ɡʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [saˈkriː.le.ɡus].
Where does sacrilegus come from?
Proto-Indo-European *seh₂k- → Proto-Indo-European *sh₂krós → Proto-Italic *sakros → Archaic Latin sakros → Old Latin sacros → Old Latin *sakr̥s → Old Latin *sakerr → Latin sacrilegus.