- Roman Catholic Church. an action, as the sign of the cross, a ceremony resembling a sacrament, or a sacred object, regarded as being instituted by the church rather than by Christ and serving as a means of receiving sanctifying grace.
Origin of sacramental
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for sacramentally
I belong to him—I sacramentally joined myself to him for life.Jude the Obscure
And to eat a little of the Totem sacramentally, in order to confirm ones identity with it, may be allowed or (rather) required.The Origin of Man and of his Superstitions
Sacramentally, when we express this in our solemn baptismal covenanting and dedication.A Christian Directory
Before that feast could be entered upon, the sins of the people had to be confessed and (sacramentally) expiated.
- of, relating to, or having the nature of a sacrament
- bound by or as if by a sacrament
- RC Church a sacrament-like ritual action, such as the sign of the cross or the use of holy water
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for sacramentally
late 14c., from Old French sacramental or directly from Late Latin sacramentalis, from sacramentum (see sacrament). As a noun, "religious practice or object," mid-15c.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper