Saints

saint  (snt)

n.

1.

a. Abbr. St. or S. Christianity A person officially recognized, especially by canonization, as being entitled to public veneration and capable of interceding for people on earth.

b. A person who has died and gone to heaven.

c. Saint A member of any of various religious groups, especially a Latter-Day Saint.

2. An extremely virtuous person.

tr.v. saint·ed, saint·ing, saints

To name, recognize, or venerate as a saint; canonize.

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[Middle English seint, from Old French saint, from Late Latin snctus, from Latin, holy, past participle of sancre, to consecrate; see sak- in Indo-European roots.]

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Saints

See also christianity; miracles; religion; sacredness; theology.

Bollandist

any of the editors of the Acta Sanctorum, a critical and official hagiology begun by the Jesuits in the 17th century.

dulia

the devotion, veneration, or respect accorded saints.

hagiography

the writing and critical study of the lives of the saints; hagiology. — hagiographer, n. — hagiographic, hagiographical, adj.

hagiolatry

the veneration or worship of saints. — hagiolater, n. — hagiolatrous, adj.

hagiology

1. the branch of literature comprising the lives and legends of the saints.
2. a biography or narrative of the life of a saint or saints.
3. a collection of such biographies. — hagiologist, n. — hagiologic, hagiological, adj.

hagiophobia

an intense dislike for the saints and the holy.