Reliquary

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈɹɛlɪkwɛɹi/, /ˈɹɛlɪkwəɹi/

Origin

From Middle French reliquaire (modern French reliquaire), from Late Latin reliquiarium, from reliquia ("a relic") (English relic), noun use of reliquus ("abandoned, left behind, relict"), from relinquo ("I relinquish"), from re- ("again") and linquo ("I leave"), from Proto-Indo-European *leikÊ·-

Full definition of reliquary

Noun

1. A container to hold or display religious relics.
• 1935, w, The Norwich Victims Chapter 4/1, “… There is an ivory virgin of the fourteenth century. I once found a buyer for that piece, but the old boy would not sell it....The other piece—the one that concerns us—is known as the Borgia reliquary.”
• 2009, February 13, Holland Cotter, To Bump Off Art as He Knew It, And whether you think of those little cans as intellectual puzzles or reliquaries or scams, there are surprises inside.
2. (figuratively) An object that sustains the memory of past people or events.

Related terms

• relic