sacra

Sacra is a Latin term meaning “the sacred things” or “the sacred rites.” It is the neuter plural form of the adjective sacer and is often used substantively to refer to rites, sacrifices, or sacred objects collectively. In classical Roman religion, sacra frequently denotes religious practices as a category, and it appears in common expressions such as sacra publica (state rites) and sacra privata (domestic or private rites), which distinguished public from private religious practice.

Grammatically, sacra is the neuter plural form, and in English translations it is typically rendered as “the sacred rites” or simply “the sacred things.” The word is common in Latin sources concerning religion and ritual, and it continues to appear in scholarly discussions of Roman religion, early Christian Latin, and ritual theory. As a Latin noun in the plural, it conveys a generic sense of sacred activities or objects rather than a single, specific rite.

In modern contexts, sacra is mainly encountered in historical, liturgical, or philological writings rather than in everyday usage. It is not a modern institution or movement; rather, it remains a grammatical form that helps describe ancient religious practice and the concept of sacredness in Latin literature. The root sacer also yields related terms such as sacrality and sacrament, but sacra itself retains its distinct plural, collective meaning related to sacred rites and things.