Saturday, November 4, 2017

Interesting words: Reliquary

A reliquary is a container for relics. Usually, these are holy relics associated with a religion, but the word reliquary can also be used more loosely - e.g. for a container for the bones of  deceased royalty.  One purpose of a reliquary is to be able to move the relics if the church or temple had to evacuate, as in times of war.

Etymologically, reliquary comes from French reliquaire which was first used in the 14th century. Not surprisingly, it shares its origin with relic, which originally meant "body parts or other object from a holy person" (see https://www.etymonline.com/word/relic). Relic derives from Latin, reliquiae which meant the remains of a martyr and from proto-IndoEuropean leikw- meaning "to leave".

The meaning of relic has broadened with time; it is now used for any object of historical or sentimental interest.  The less common reliquary is going in the same direction.  For example, in New York City there is a museum called the City Reliquary, which displays artifacts from the history of the city, most of them not religious in any way. Reliquary is also the title of at least two novels.


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