I. ˈsakrəˌfīs also -_fə̇s or -ˌfīz sometimes especially before pl ending -ˌfis noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English sacrifise, sacrifice, from Old French, from Latin sacrificium, from sacri- (from sacr-, sacer sacred) + -ficium (akin to Latin -ficare -fy) — more at sacred
1.
a. : an act or action of making an offering of animal or vegetable life, of food, drink, or incense, or of some precious object to a deity or spiritual being
b. : something consecrated and offered to God or to a divinity or an immolated victim or an offering of any kind laid on an altar or otherwise presented in the way of religious thanksgiving, atonement, or conciliation
2.
a. : the crucifixion of Christ ; specifically : the voluntary offering by Christ of himself to reconcile God and man
b. often capitalized : the sacramental repetition of Jesus Christ's death on the cross held by some Christians to be Christ's repeatable offering of himself to God on behalf of men
Eastern Orthodoxy's Bloodless Sacrifice
3.
a. : destruction or surrender of something for the sake of something else : giving up of some desirable thing in behalf of a higher object
b. : something given up or lost
the sacrifices made by parents
4.
a. : loss , deprivation
the sacrifice of a whole regiment
flood victims who suffered the sacrifice of their homes
b. : financial loss (as incurred from selling goods marked down for immediate sale)
5. : sacrifice hit
II. -ˌfīs also -ˌfīz sometimes -_fə̇s or especially before ə̇z & iŋ endings -ˌfis verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English sacrifisen, sacrificen, from sacrifise, sacrifice, n.
transitive verb
1. : to offer (as a sacrificial victim) as a sacrifice : make a sacrifice or religious oblation : immolate
Abraham about to sacrifice Isaac
2. : to suffer loss of, give up, renounce, injure, or destroy often for an ideal or belief or for an advantageous or beneficial end
sacrifice lives for the sake of freedom
3. : to sell at a loss
the owner sacrificeed his house
intransitive verb
1. : to offer up or perform rites of a sacrifice
2. : to make a sacrifice hit in baseball
Synonyms: see forgo