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Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary al·tar \\ˈȯl-tər\\ noun USAGE often attributive
ETYMOLOGY Middle English alter, from Old English altar, from Latin altare; probably akin to Latin adolēre to burn up
DATE before 12th century
1. a usually raised structure or place on which sacrifices are offered or incense is burned in worship — often used figuratively to describe a thing given great or undue precedence or value especially at the cost of something else sacrificed his family life on the altar of career advancement2. a table on which the eucharistic elements are consecrated or which serves as a center of worship or ritual
altar
O.E., from L. altare (pl. altaria), probably originally meaning "burnt offerings" (cf. L. adolere "to worship, to offer sacrifice, to honor by burning sacrifices to"), but infl. by L. altus "high."
Oxford Collocations Dictionary for Students of English Oxford Collocations dictionary for students of Englishaltar
noun ADJ. high, main | makeshift, portable | sacrificial VERB + ALTAR approach, go up to The bride approached the altar. ALTAR + NOUN boy | cloth, frontal | rail | table PREP. at an/the ~ Helen and Tony knelt at the altar. | before an/the ~ He lay prostrate before the high altar. | on an/the ~ He placed the candles on the altar. Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary-牛津双解-OALD7 altaraltar / 5C:ltE(r) / noun a holy table in a church or temple (教堂、庙宇的)圣坛,祭坛,祭台: the high altar (= the most important one in a particular church) 教堂正祭台 IDIOMS ▪ at / on the altar of sth ( formal) because of sth that you think is worth suffering for 因为,为了(值得为之受苦的事物): He was willing to sacrifice his happiness on the altar of fame. 为了名声,他心甘情愿牺牲幸福。
Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged Search result show the entry is found in: lady altar , or rood altar , or altar front , or by-altar , or altar boy , or altar brass , or altar bread , or altar call , or altar card , or altar cloth , or altar desk , or altar facing , or altar girl , or altar ledge , or altar mound , or altar of repose , or altar plate , or altar rail , or altar screen , or altar slab , or altar stone , or altar wine , or dominical altar , or druids' altar , or family altar , or high altar
al·tar\ˈȯltə(r)\ noun( -s) Etymology: alteration (influenced by Latin altare) of Middle English alter, auter; Middle English alter, from Old English altar, from Latin alatre altar, materials for burning on an altar; Middle English auter, from Old French, from Latin altare; akin to Latin adolēre to burn up, and perhaps to Swedish dialect ala to flame, burn, Sanskrit alāta firebrand, coal 1. : a raised structure (as a block, pile of blocks, pillar, or stand) on which sacrifices are offered or incense burned (as in the worship of a deity or of the spirit of a deceased ancestor); broadly : any structure or place serving as a place of sacrifice or worship 2. a. : a tablelike construction used in the Christian church in celebrating the Eucharist : communion table — called also Lord's table, Holy Table b. in the Eastern Church : sanctuary 1a(2) 3. : a piece of furniture resembling an altar and used in ritual and ceremonial practices in the Masonic and other fraternal societies 4. : any of the steps, ledges, or offsets the flights of which form the inner sides of a graving dock or dry dock
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