altarless

Adjective

altarless (comparative more altarless, superlative most altarless)

1. Not having an altar.
   • The hypothesis that the cult center was in some such place would explain why it was altarless. It would resemble the cult of Hestia, the sacred Hearth, a cult that was generally housed in public or private buildings and was usually altarless because the sacred fire of the hearth substituted for an...1990, Norman Oliver Brown, Hermes the Thief: The Evolution of a Myth, page 117
   • Gradually, the exteriors of stone-mound tumuli took on different shapes, from altarless to altar-equipped and tier-type structures.2004, Korea Now - Volume 33, page 30
2. To which there is no dedicated place of worship.
   • The elders silent, glad to hear retold The tales, familiar, of their downthrown gods, Not utterly unloved though altarless.1881, George Washington Wright Houghton, The Legend of St. Olaf's Kirk, page 13
   • The goddess altarless, without a throne.1881, The Californian, page 290
3. Having no place to hold religious services.
   • The wandering and altarless homes of this wild people are, as it were, a neutral ground between the lands of the Bible and of the Koran, the traditional customs of which still serve to explain how Jew and Mahometan, members of the same race, while most widely parted in doctrine, may yet maintain...1856, Edinburgh Review, Or, Critical Journal - Volume 104, page 365
   • Liam's poem about the Irish as wandering in 'feastless, houseless, altarless' exile repeats Keating's belief that Ireland's hope is the Almighty God.1996, Thomas Heffernan, Gathering in Ireland, page 67