altar

• n. 祭壇；神社；聖餐台
• n.(祭壇の)人の名前；(F., S., R.) Alta.

語源はal、養う。ここでは宗教的な意味で使われ、神々へのいけにえを指す。また、語根のaltによって強化され、alt、高い。

altar

altar: [OE] The etymological notion underlying the word altar is that of sacrificial burning. Latin altar, which was borrowed directly into Old English, was a derivative of the plural noun altāria, ‘burnt offerings’, which probably came from the verb adolēre ‘burn up’. Adolēre in turn appears to be a derivative of olēre ‘smell’ (the connection being the smell made by combustion), which is related to English odour, olfactory, and redolent. (The traditional view that altar derives from Latin altus ‘high’ is no longer generally accepted, although no doubt it played a part, by association, in its development.) In Middle English, the Old French form auter replaced altar, but in the 16th century the Latin form re-established itself.
=> odour, olfactory, redolent

altar (n.)

Old English alter, altar, from Latin altare (plural altaria) "high altar, altar for sacrifice to the great gods," perhaps originally meaning "burnt offerings" (compare Latin adolere "to worship, to offer sacrifice, to honor by burning sacrifices to"), but influenced by Latin altus "high." In Middle English, often auter, from Old French auter. Reintroduced from Latin 1500s. As a symbol of marriage, by 1820.

1. Matilda was embroidering an altar cloth covered with flowers and birds.

マチルダは花鳥模様の祭壇布に刺繍した。

2.The altar was flanked by two Christmas trees.

聖壇の両側には2本のクリスマスツリーがある。

3.The vicar took a candlestick from the altar .

牧師は聖餐台から燭台を持ち上げた。

4.Pope John Paul II knelt in his white robes before the simple altar .

法王ヨハネ?パウロ2世は、簡素な聖壇の前で白いガウンを着てひざまずいた。

5.The coffin lying before the altar was bare，except for a single wreath of white roses.

祭壇前の棺には、1つの白いバラの花輪以外に装飾はありません。