Sacrificing
verbGiving up something valued for the sake of something considered more important.
How to spell sacrificing
11 letters · 4 syllables
How to pronounce sacrificing
Say the part in capitals loudest.
What does sacrificing mean?
- verbGiving up something valued for the sake of something considered more important.
Sacrificing in a sentence
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She built her business by sacrificing most of her free weekends.
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They were sacrificing comfort for the chance to travel cheaply.
Where does sacrificing come from?
Language of origin: Latin
This word traces back to the Latin sacrificium, meaning an offering made to a god, which was built from sacer, meaning 'sacred' or 'holy', and facere, meaning 'to make' or 'to do'. The literal idea was 'to make something sacred' by giving it up to a deity, often as an animal offering on an altar. English borrowed the noun 'sacrifice' through Old French in the 1200s, and the verb followed, with 'sacrificing' formed by adding the present participle ending. Over the centuries the meaning broadened from religious ritual to the everyday sense of giving up something valuable for the sake of something else. The same sacer root survives in 'sacred', 'sacrament', and 'consecrate', while the facere root hides inside the spelling as the often-overlooked '-fic-', which is the part adults most easily slip on.
How the word is built
- sacr- (sacred)
- -fic- (from facere: to make)
- -ing (present participle suffix)
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