odour of sanctity
Syllables: odour of sanct·i·ty/ˌəʊdəɹ‿əv ˈsæŋktɪti/US/ˌoʊdəɹ‿əv ˈsæŋktɪti/
odour of sanctity noun: a sweet smell, usually likened to that of flowers, said to be emitted by the bodies of saints during their life, or especially at or after death.
Noun
odour of sanctity (usually uncountable, plural odours of sanctity)
- A sweet smell, usually likened to that of flowers, said to be emitted by the bodies of saints during their life, or especially at or after death.
- Perhaps, too, the opinion that the relics of the holy dead were distinguished by a peculiar fragrance, may have arisen from embalmed bodies: at first, it might honestly have obtained among the Clergy; but when they saw how willingly it was received by the people, whenever a new mine of relics was...1824, Robert Southey, “View of the Papal System”, in The Book of the Church. […], volume I, London: John Murray, […], →OCLC, page 291
- The odours of sanctity differ both in quality and degree. St. Benedicta tells us from "personal observations" she finds that the odours of the angelic hierarchy differ as much as the perfume of flowers.1884, E[benezer] Cobham Brewer, “Odour of Sanctity”, in A Dictionary of Miracles: Imitative, Realistic, and Dogmatic, Philadelphia, Pa.: J[oshua] B[allinger] Lippincott Company, →OCLC, page 510...
- A person's reputation for, or state of, holiness.
- to die in odour of sanctity
- [S]he [Saint Margaret of England] made her profession in the Cistercian nunnery at Laon, where she died in odour of sanctity in 1192.1756, Alban Butler, “February III”, in The Lives of the Primitive Fathers, Martyrs, and Other Principal Saints: […], 3rd edition, volume II, Edinburgh: […] J. Moir, […]; for J. P. Coghlane, […]; and...
- A (supposed) general aura of goodness or virtue.
- […] Kings and Queens, Princes and Princeſſes, and other Perſons of high Rank and Fortune, being able to build Churches, eaſily attained to Saintſhip, vvhich thoſe of lovver Rank, tho' perhaps much better and holier Perſons, not having vvherevvithal to build them, could not do, but lived and died...1753, John White, “Postscript”, in The Protestant Englishman Guarded against the Arts and Arguments of Romish Priests and Emissaries. […], London: […] C. Davis, […]; and L. Davis, […], →OCLC...
- For it [the old church at Glastonbury] is of all the churches in England the first and most ancient; first made of twisted rods, from which a divine odour of sanctity spread its perfume over all the world; and though made of mean materials, was held in the highest veneration for its sanctity.1813, James Hall, “History of Gothic Architecture in Successive Ages. […]”, in Essay on the Origin, History, and Principles, of Gothic Architecture, London; Edinburgh: […] W[illiam] Bulmer and Co....
Examples of odour of sanctity in a sentence
- These [Taoist] 'immortals' were either resurrected or their bodies regrew, or the corpse did not go cold and emitted a 'pleasant' odour of sanctity.2005, John J. Jørgensen, “‘Why Not Take All of Me?’ The Afterlife of Hui-neng as a Relic in China”, in Inventing Hui-neng, the Sixth...
- The Jesuits were flourishing in general favour at this time; [Joseph of] Anchieta's memory was still fresh in Brazil, and [John] Almeida was then living in the odour of sanctity.1817, Robert Southey, chapter XXVI, in History of Brazil, 2nd part, London: […] [William Pople] for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown...
- These blessed Fowls, at seven years end, / In the odour of sanctity died: / They were carefully pluck'd, and then / They were buried, side by side.1829, Robert Southey, “The Pilgrim to Compostela: Being the Legend of a Cock and a Hen, to the Honour and Glory of Santiago. A Christmas...
- He was raised to the odour of sanctity by Pope Innocent XII. about the year 1700.1829, Richard Sucklethumkin Spruggins [pseudonym; Walter Sneyd], Portraits of the Spruggins Family, […], [London?]: [s.n.], →OCLC:
Forms of odour of sanctity
| plural | odours of sanctity |
|---|---|
| alternative form | odor of sanctity |
Origin of odour of sanctity
A calque of French odeur de sainteté (“sweet smell said to be emitted by bodies of saints at or after death”), from Late Latin odor sānctitātis (literally “odour of sanctity”) (compare odor suāvitātis (literally “sweet odour”)), from odor (“(sweet) smell, odour”) + sānctitātis (genitive singular of sānctitās (“sacredness, sanctity; holiness, virtue”)).
Questions about odour of sanctity
- What does odour of sanctity mean?
- Odour of sanctity means a sweet smell, usually likened to that of flowers, said to be emitted by the bodies of saints during their life, or especially at or after death.
- How do you use odour of sanctity in a sentence?
- These [Taoist] 'immortals' were either resurrected or their bodies regrew, or the corpse did not go cold and emitted a 'pleasant' odour of sanctity.
- What part of speech is odour of sanctity?
- Odour of sanctity is a noun.
- How do you pronounce odour of sanctity?
- Odour of sanctity is pronounced /ˌəʊdəɹ‿əv ˈsæŋktɪti/ (UK).
- What is the plural of odour of sanctity?
- The plural of odour of sanctity is odours of sanctity.
Words near odour of sanctity in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: odour of sanctity (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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