Hypertext Webster Gateway: "sacrilege"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Sacrilege \Sac"ri*lege\, n. [F. sacril[`e]ge, L. sacrilegium,
from sacrilegus that steals, properly, gathers or picks up,
sacred things; sacer sacred + legere to gather, pick up. See
{Sacred}, and {Legend}.]
The sin or crime of violating or profaning sacred things; the
alienating to laymen, or to common purposes, what has been
appropriated or consecrated to religious persons or uses.
And the hid treasures in her sacred tomb With sacrilege
to dig. --Spenser.
Families raised upon the ruins of churches, and
enriched with the spoils of sacrilege. --South.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
sacrilege
n : blasphemous behavior [syn: {profanation}, {desecration}, {blasphemy}]
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