Profane
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: /pɹəˈfeɪn/
- Rhymes: -eɪn
Origin
From Middle French prophane, from Latin profÄnus ("not religious, unclean"), from pro- ("before") + fÄnum ("temple").
Full definition of profane
Adjective
profane
- Unclean; ritually impure; unholy, desecrating a holy place or thing.
- Sir Walter RaleighNothing is profane that serveth to holy things.
- Not sacred or holy, unconsecrated; relating to non-religious matters, secular.
- I. Disraeliprofane authors
- GibbonThe profane wreath was suspended before the shrine.
- Treating sacred things with contempt, disrespect, irreverence, or undue familiarity; blasphemous, impious. Hence, specifically; Irreverent in language; taking the name of God in vain; given to swearing; blasphemous; as, a profane person, word, oath, or tongue.a profane person, word, oath, or tongue
Synonyms
Noun
profane
(plural profanes)- A person or thing that is profane.
- 1796, Matthew Lewis, The Monk, Folio Society 1985, p. 244:The nuns were employed in religious duties established in honour of St Clare, and to which no profane was ever admitted.
- (freemasonry) A person not a Mason.
Verb
- (transitive) To violate, as anything sacred; to treat with abuse, irreverence, obloquy, or contempt; to desecrate; to pollute; as, to profane the name of God; to profane the Scriptures, or the ordinance of God.
- 1851, Herman Melville, ,With one mind, their intent eyes all fastened upon the old man’s knife, as he carved the chief dish before him. I do not suppose that for the world they would have profaned that moment with the slightest observation, even upon so neutral a topic as the weather.
- (transitive) To put to a wrong or unworthy use; to make a base employment of; to debase; to abuse; to defile.