altar

a table or platform used in a church service or ceremonial rite: They knelt at the altar for communion.

Not to be confused with:

alter – change: alter a will; adjust: She’ll need to alter her wedding gown to make it fit.

al·tar

(ôl′tər)

1. An elevated place or structure before which religious ceremonies may be enacted or upon which sacrifices may be offered.

2. A structure, typically a table, before which the divine offices are recited and upon which the Eucharist is celebrated in Christian churches.

[Middle English auter, from Old English altar and Old French auter, both from Latin altāre.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

altar

(ˈɔːltə)

1. (Ecclesiastical Terms) a raised place or structure where sacrifices are offered and religious rites performed

2. (Ecclesiastical Terms) (in Christian churches) the communion table

3. (Civil Engineering) a step in the wall of a dry dock upon which structures supporting a vessel can stand

4. lead to the altar informal to marry

[Old English, from Latin altāria (plural) altar, from altus high]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

al•tar

(ˈɔl tər)

n.

1. an elevated place or structure, as a mound or platform, at which religious rites are performed or on which sacrifices are offered to gods, ancestors, etc.

2. communion table.

Idioms:

lead to the altar, to marry.

[before 1000; Middle English; Old English alter < Latin altāria (pl.)]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	altar - the table in Christian churches where communion is given communion table, Lord's table table - a piece of furniture having a smooth flat top that is usually supported by one or more vertical legs; "it was a sturdy table"
	2.	altar - a raised structure on which gifts or sacrifices to a god are made high altar - the main altar in a church structure, construction - a thing constructed; a complex entity constructed of many parts; "the structure consisted of a series of arches"; "she wore her hair in an amazing construction of whirls and ribbons"

Translations

مَذْبَحُ الكَنِيسَةِمَذْبَح الكَنِيسَهمَذْبَح تَقْدِيم القَرَابِين لِلآلِهَه

олтар

oltář

alter

alttari

oltar

oltár

altari

altare

祭壇

제단

altareara

altorius

алтарь жертвенник престол

oltár

oltar

žrtvenik

altare

แท่นบูชา

sunak mihrap

bàn thờ

祭坛圣坛

altar

[ˈɒltəʳ]

A. N → altar m
high altar → altar m mayor
he sacrificed all on the altar of his ambition → lo sacrificó todo en aras de su ambición
to lead a girl to the altar → conducir a una chica al altar

B. CPD altar boy N → acólito m, monaguillo m
altar cloth N → sabanilla f, paño m de altar
altar rail N → comulgatorio m

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

altar

[ˈɔːltə^r] n

[church] → autel m altar boy, altar cloth, altar rail, altar stone, altar table

(fig) → autel m
to be sacrificed on the altar of sth → être immolé(e) sur l'autel de qchaltar boy n → enfant m de chœuraltar cloth n → nappe f d'autel

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

altar

n → Altar m; to lead somebody to the altar → jdn zum Altar führen; she was left standing at the altar → sie wurde in letzter Minute sitzen gelassen (inf); to be sacrificed on the altar of pride etc → auf dem Altar des Stolzes etc geopfert werden

altar

altar boy

n → Ministrant m

altar cloth

n → Altartuch nt, → Altardecke f

altarpiece

n → Altarbild nt

altar rail

n, altar rails

pl → Kommunionbank f

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

altar

[ˈɒltəʳ] n → altare m
high altar → altar maggiore

altar

(ˈoːltə) noun

1. in some Christian churches the table on which the bread and wine are consecrated during the celebration of communion. The bride and groom stood before the priest at the altar.

2. a table etc on which offerings are made to a god.

altar

→ مَذْبَحُ الكَنِيسَةِ oltář alter Altar βωμός altar alttari autel oltar altare 祭壇 제단 altaar alter ołtarz altar алтарь altare แท่นบูชา sunak bàn thờ 祭坛

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

Through winding corridors she led, farther and farther into the remoter precincts of the temple, until they came to a great chamber in the center of which stood an altar. Then it was that Tarzan translated the strange ceremony that had preceded his introduction into this holy of holies.

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The ceremony was to be solemnized according to the Episcopalian forms, and in open church, with a degree of publicity that attracted many spectators, who occupied the front seats of the galleries, and the pews near the altar and along the broad aisle.

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Under an altar by the door was a pair of stone stocks for human legs.

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"Under the altar in the chapel, sir," answered Thomas.

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Just before him stood a stone altar, stained with rusty-brown discolorations.

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And Leto sware the great oath of the gods: `Now hear this, Earth and wide Heaven above, and dropping water of Styx (this is the strongest and most awful oath for the blessed gods), surely Phoebus shall have here his fragrant altar and precinct, and you he shall honour above all.'

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Methinks it is no great stretch of generosity to allow us lambs for the altar of the Lord, receiving in lieu thereof thirty silver shekels per head !"

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On the walls were rosaries, medals, a number of Holy Virgins, and a holy-water basin made out of a cocoanut; on the bureau, which was covered with a napkin like an altar, stood the box of shells that Victor had given her; also a watering-can and a balloon, writing-books, the engraved geography and a pair of shoes; on the nail which held the mirror, hung Virginia's little plush hat!

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The chief were those who from the Pit of Hell Roaming to seek their prey on earth, durst fix Their Seats long after next the Seat of God, Their Altars by his Altar, Gods ador'd Among the Nations round, and durst abide JEHOVAH thundring out of SION, thron'd Between the Cherubim; yea, often plac'd Within his Sanctuary it self their Shrines, Abominations; and with cursed things His holy Rites, and solemn Feasts profan'd, And with their darkness durst affront his light.

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I frequently passed the little temples reposing in the shadows of the taboo groves and beheld the offerings--mouldy fruit spread out upon a rude altar, or hanging in half-decayed baskets around some uncouth jolly-looking image; I was present during the continuance of the festival; I daily beheld the grinning idols marshalled rank and file in the Hoolah Hoolah ground, and was often in the habit of meeting those whom I supposed to be the priests.

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While hovering near an altar, on which some villagers were sacrificing a goat, she suddenly seized a piece of the flesh, and carried it, along with a burning cinder, to her nest.

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At one side of the table was a small carpet with various figures worked upon it, at the other was something resembling an altar on which lay a Testament and a skull.

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