Altar OED

Oxford English Dictionary altar

[a. L. alt{amac}re, pl. alt{amac}ri-a, prob. orig. a ‘high place,’ f. alt-us high. With OE. altar, cf. OS., OHG. and ON. altari, alteri, OFris. altare, alter. Side by side with the OE. form, the OFr. au{sm}ter (earlier autier, aultier, altier:{em}L. alt{amac}re) was adopted a 1300, and both forms, with many intermediate ones, continued to 16th c., when the spelling altar, after L., prevailed.]

A. 1. a. A block, pile, table, stand, or other raised structure, with a plane top, on which to place or sacrifice offerings to a deity.
c1000 ÆLFRIC Matt. v. 23 Læt {th}ær {th}ine lác beforan {th}am altare [v.r. wefode, Lindisf. G. wi{asg}bed, Hatt. weofede]. c1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 135 {Edh}e holi man sah {th}e he{ygh} engel atte alteres ende. c1250 Gen. & Ex. 1325 Ysaac was leid {edh}at auter on. 1366 MANDEVILLE iii. 16 There is an Awtier upon his Toumbe. 1393 GOWER Conf. III. 250 From under thalter sodeinly An hideous serpent openly Cam out. 1535 COVERDALE Ex. xxxviii. 1 The altare of burnt offrynges. {emem} 1 Macc. iv. 49 The aulter of incense. 1611 BIBLE Gen. viii. 20 And Noah builded an Altar vnto the Lord. 1667 MILTON P.L. XI. 323 So many grateful Altars I would reare Of grassie Terfe. 1772 PENNANT Tours in Scotl. (1774) 180 An altar for sacrifices to the immortal gods. 1821 BYRON Cain I. i, I will build no more altars.

b. fig. with reference to the uses, customs, dedication, or peculiar sanctity of the altar.
1401 Pol. Poems (1859) II. 42 Datan and Abiron..with newe senceres ensencen the auters of synne. 1580 SIDNEY Arcadia I. 82 Where thoughts be the temple, sight is an aultar. 1601 SHAKES. Twel. N. V. i. 116 You vnciuill Ladie To whose ingrate, and vnauspicious Altars My soule the faithfull'st offrings haue breath'd out. 1635 HOWELL Lett. (1650) II. 41 Farewell my dear Tom..Yours to the altar, J.H. 1775 BURKE Sp. Conc. Amer. Wks. III. 94 The stones which construct the sacred altar of peace. 1857 HEAVYSEGE Saul (1869) 381 The stars shall sooner fall Each from its sacred altar in the heavens.

Monumental Etymology: OED

Monumental, adj. and n.[ classical Latin monumentlis (1st cent. A.D.) < monumentum MONUMENT n. + -lis -AL suffix1. Compare French monumental relating to monuments (1802), of majestic grandeur (1805). Compare slightly earlier MONUMENTARY adj.]

1. a. Serving as a monument or memorial.
Quotes: 1596 C. FITZ-GEFFREY Sir Francis Drake sig. E8, The dangerous straights that yet doe bear his name, Are monumentall annals of the same. 1872 ‘M. TWAIN’ Roughing It lxxi, His second in command..opened fire upon the swarms of natives on the beach, and one of his cannon balls cut this cocoanut tree short off and left this monumental stump standing. 1897 H. E. CHETWYND-TAPYLTON Stapeltons of Yorks. 191 Torre also saw four monumental slabstones. 1954 S. PIGGOTT Neolithic Cultures Brit. Isles v. 132 At Wayland's Smithy..monumental peristaliths of standing sarsen stones..surrounded the mound

{dag}b. That serves as a token or reminder; spec. acting as a proof of identity. Obs.
Quotes: a1616 SHAKESPEARE All's Well that ends Well (1623) IV. iii. 18 Hee hath giuen her his monumentall Ring

2. Of or relating to a monument or memorial structure, or to monuments in general. In early use: {dag}of or relating to the tomb; sepulchral (cf. MONUMENT n. 1) (obs.). Also fig.
Quotes: 1603 T. POWELL Vertues Due sig. C6, The hallowedst mold, Left for monumentall vse. a1616 SHAKESPEARE Othello (1622) V. ii. 5 Skin..smooth, as monumentall Alablaster. 1646 R. CRASHAW Steps to Temple 35 Softly may he be possest, Of his monumentall rest

3. Resembling or suggestive of a monument; like a monument, esp. in being large, solid, imposing, etc.

Monument Etymoloogy: OED

Monument, n. classical Latin monumentum, monimentum commemorative statue or building, tomb, reminder, written record, literary work < monre to remind (see MONEO n.) + -mentum -MENT suffix. Compare Anglo-Norman monument tomb, Old French, Middle French, French monument (end of the 10th cent. in sense ‘tomb’, also in Old French as moniment; late 14th cent. in general sense ‘anything that preserves a memory of something’, 17th cent. in sense ‘lasting work of literature, science or art’, 18th cent. denoting edifices which are imposing by virtue of their grandeur or antiquity), Spanish monumento (1207), Portuguese monumento (a1284), Italian monumento (1292). With sense 1, compare Welsh mynwent (< classical Latin monumentum) graveyard. With the phrase monuments of letters (see sense 3b), compare classical Latin monumenta litterarum. With sense 4d, compare earlier use of French monument of a work of literature (see above), and also use of classical Latin monumentum in Horace Odes 3.30.1, where the poet compares his literary work to a bronze monument.]

{dag}1. A tomb, a sepulchre. Also fig. (see quot. c1475). Obs.
a1325 (c1280) Southern Passion (Pepys 2344) 1823 Now was hit a manere hows {th}at god was ynne ydo, Ygraued wyde in a roche..{Th}at is ycleped a Monument. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 16904 {Th}e prince o preistes o {th}air lagh went to {th}at monument And sperd it wit a mikel stan. a1425 Gospel of Nicodemus (Harl.) 723 He wand {th}at cors..And layd it in his monument. c1475 (a1400) WYCLIF Eng. Wks. (1880) 299 Wo be to {ygh}ou, pharisees..{th}at ben hud monumentis

2. a. A statue, building, or other structure erected to commemorate a famous or notable person or event.
{dag}in monument of: in commemoration of (obs.).
c1400 Brut (Rawl. B. 171) 61 {Th}e kyng..{th}ou{ygh}t to make, in minde of ham, a monument of stone {th}at my{ygh}t endure to {th}e worldes ende

{dag}b. An effigy; a carved figure, statue. Obs. Freq. in Shakespeare. 1594 SHAKESPEARE Lucrece sig. D2, Where like a vertuous Monument shee lies, To be admir'd of lewd vnhallowed eyes.

c. A statue or other structure erected in memory of the dead, either over the grave or in a church, etc.
1594 SHAKESPEARE Titus Andronicus I. i. 347 Traitors away, he rests not in this toombe: This monument fiue hundreth yeares hath stood, Which I haue sumptuouslie reedified

d. A structure, edifice, or (in later use also) site of historical interest or importance.
Sometimes merging with sense 2a. See also ancient monument at ANCIENT adj. 4c.
1768 Woman of Honor II. 83 Paintings, statues, monuments..that so vulgarly satisfy the silly superficial gape of travelling sight-mongers

{dag}3. a. A written document or record; (Law) a legal instrument. Obs.
In legal contexts sometimes confused with MUNIMENT n. 1.

4. a. Something that by its survival commemorates and distinguishes a person, action, period, event, etc.; something that serves as a memorial.

Shrine Etymology: Wikipedia

Shrine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaA shrine, from the Latin scrinium (‘box’; also used as a desk, like the French bureau) was originally a container, usually made of precious materials, used especially for a relic and often a cult image. By extension it has come to mean a holy or sacred place containing the reliquary or tomb dedicated to a particular hero, martyr, saint or similar figure of awe and respect. Shrines may be enclosures within temples, home altars, and sacred burial places. Secular meanings have developed by association, as noted below. A shrine at which offerings are made is called an altar.

Shrine Etymology: Oxford English Dictionary

Oxford English Dictionary shrine, n.

{dag}1. A box, coffer; a cabinet, chest. (Cf. SCRINE.)
In OE. and ME. applied to the ark of the covenant.

Quotations: c1000 ÆLFRIC Josh. iii. 8 {Th}a sacerdas, {th}a {th}e {th}æt scrin [Vulg. arcam] bera{edh}. c1000 Ags. Gosp. John xii. 6 For{th}am {th}e he wæs {th}eof & hæfde scrin [Vulg. loculos]. c1150 Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 546/29 Archa, scrin. 1387 TREVISA Higden (Rolls) III. 109 {Th}e schryne of {th}e testament [arcam testamenti]. 1398 {emem} Barth. de P.R. XIII. ix. (Tollem. MS.), {Th}e schryne of oure lorde [ed. 1582, the Arke]. 1516 Burgh Rec. Edin. (1869) I. 161 Item, in the compertas of Craufurdis ane standand bed, and ane schryne. 1560 Stirling Burgh Rec. (1887) I. 75 Ane schryne but the lid. 1658 PHILLIPS, Shrine, a chest or cabinet.