sacre

Sacre is a French term that relates to the sacred or holy. In noun form, un sacre can mean a sacred rite or ceremony, most notably a coronation or anointment of a monarch. It can also denote the sacred status attributed to objects, places, or persons. As an adjective, sacré (masculine) or sacrée (feminine) means sacred or holy, and in everyday speech sacré can function as an informal intensifier, as in sacré homme, meaning a remarkable or formidable man.

Etymologically, sacre derives from Latin sacrum or sacer, through Old French usage, and is connected to religious and ceremonial concepts. The noun sacre historically appears in discussions of coronations and the ceremony surrounding the investiture of rulers, while the adjective sacré is used to describe things deemed holy or consecrated.

In culture and notation, sacre appears in several notable contexts. The French title Le Sacre du printemps, by Igor Stravinsky (The Rite of Spring), uses sacre in the sense of a ceremonial rite rather than simply “sacred.” The phrase also appears in place names and institutions, such as Sacré-Cœur, the Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Paris, whose name reflects the same root. Beyond these, sacre and sacré appear in literature and religious discourse to convey ideas of holiness, devotion, and the ceremonial aspects of religious or royal life.

In modern usage, the term retains its dual sense as both a descriptor of sacredness and a historical term for coronation rites, while sacré as an adjective remains common in ordinary speech and in a variety of proper names and cultural references.