KJV Dictionary Definition: consecrate

consecrate

CONSECRATE, v.t. L., to consecrate, sacred. See Sacred.

1. To make or declare to be sacred, by certain ceremonies or rites; to appropriate to sacred uses; to set apart, dedicate, or devote, to the service and worship of God; as, to consecrate a church.

Thou shalt consecrate Aaron and his sons. Exodus 29.

All the silver, and gold, and vessels of brass and iron, are consecrated to the Lord. Joshua 6.

2. To canonize; to exalt to the rank of a saint; to enroll among the gods, as a Roman emperor.

3. To set apart and bless the elements in the eucharist.

4. To render venerable; to make respected; as, rules or principles consecrated by time.

CONSECRATE, a. Sacred; consecrated; devoted; dedicated.

They were assembled in that consecrate place.

This word is now seldom used, unless in poetry.

consecrated

CONSECRATED, pp. Made sacred by ceremonies or solemn rites; separated from a common to a sacred use; devoted or dedicated to the service and worship of God; made venerable.

consecrating

CONSECRATING, ppr. Making sacred; appropriating to a sacred use; dedicating to the service of God; devoting; rendering venerable.

consecration

CONSECRATION, n.

1. The act or ceremony of separating form a common to a sacred use, or of devoting and dedicating a person or thing to the service and worship of God, by certain rites or solemnities. Consecration does not make a person or thing really holy, but declares it to be sacred, that is, devoted to God or to divine service; as the consecration of the priests among the Israelites; the consecration of the vessels used in the temple; the consecration of a bishop.

2. Canonization; the act of translating into heaven, and enrolling or numbering among the saints or gods; the ceremony of the apotheosis of an emperor.

3. The benediction of the elements in the eucharist; the act of setting apart and blessing the elements in the communion.

consecrator

CONSECRATOR, n. One who consecrates; one who performs the rites by which a person or thing is devoted or dedicated to sacred purposes.

Definitions from Webster's American Dictionary of the English Language, 1828.
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