burnt offering

noun

1. an offering burnt upon an altar in sacrifice to a deity.

burnt offering

noun

1. a sacrificial offering burnt, usually on an altar, to honour, propitiate, or supplicate a deity

Word History and Origins

Origin of burnt offering¹

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400

Example Sentences

The faithful smoke it as a sacrament in chalice pipes or cigarettes called “spliffs,” add it to plant-based organic stews and place it in fires as a burnt offering.

From Seattle Times

The faithful smoke it as a sacrament in chalice pipes or cigarettes called “spliffs,” add it to vegetarian stews and place it in fires as a burnt offering.

From Seattle Times

In the superb season finale, Kendall is like a burnt offering kindling an unexpected sea of flames.

From The New Yorker

The ancient Greek term from which Holocaust arose meant a burnt offering; then, in early modern Europe, a holocaust was the death of humans by fire; then, by the 19th century, it came to mean a cataclysm generally; then, by the late 20th, the mass murder of the European Jews.

From Slate

In the end, the burnt offering of a staffer’s character is not enough.

From Washington Post

Related Words

• aroma
• odor
• perfume
• scent