Definition of SAINT

saint

Plural: saints

Noun

  • a person who has died and has been declared a saint by canonization
  • person of exceptional holiness
  • model of excellence or perfection of a kind; one having no equal
  • A deceased person whom a church or another religious group has officially recognised as especially holy or godly; one eminent for piety and virtue.
  • One of the blessed in heaven.
  • A Christian; a faithful believer in the present world.
  • Alternative letter-case form of Saint (“a Mormon, a Latter-day Saint”).
  • A person with similarly overwhelming positive qualities; one who does good.
  • A holy object.

Verb

Verb Forms: sainted, sainting, saints

  • To officially declare a person to be a saint.
  • hold sacred
  • declare (a dead person) to be a saint
  • Synonym of canonize: to honor, formally name, or revere as a saint.

Prefix

  • Capitalized and placed before another term, particularly personal names, to create placename without direct association to any religious character.

Examples

  • Dorothy Day was a living saint.
  • His opponent’s perfect bingo play was so good, he wanted to saint the player.
  • Many Catholics wished to see Pope John Paul II sainted immediately after his death.
  • Thanks for looking after the house while I'm away. You're a saint!
  • The Roman Catholic Church proclaimed Kateri Tekakwitha a saint in 2012.

Origin / Etymology

From Middle English saint, seint, sainct, seinct, sanct, senct, partly from Old English sanct (“saint”) and confluence with Old French saint, seinte (Modern French saint); both from Latin sānctus (“holy, consecrated”, in Late Latin as a noun, “a saint”), past participle of sancīre (“to render sacred, make holy”), akin to sacer (“holy, sacred”). Doublet of Sanctus. Displaced native Middle English halwe (“saint”) from Old English hālga (“saint, holy one”) (> Modern English hallow (“saint”)).

Synonyms

angel, apotheosis, canonise, canonize, enshrine, holy man, holy person, ideal, nonesuch, nonpareil, nonsuch, paragon, hallow

Scrabble Score: 5

saint: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
saint: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
saint: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 6

saint: valid Words With Friends Word