shrine
UK[ʃraɪn]US[ʃraɪn]
n
a place regarded as holy because of its associations with a divinity or a sacred person or relic, marked by a building or other construction.
n
a casket or small box holding sacred relics.
n
a place or object hallowed by its history or associations.
Etymology
the word 'shrine' entered english from the old english 'scrīn', denoting a container for sacred relics. this old english term was a borrowing from latin 'scrīnium', which meant a case or chest for holding books or papers. the latin word likely shares an origin with other terms for separating or discerning, such as 'cernere' (to sift, separate, decide), hinting at an ancient concept of a special, set-apart container. over time, the meaning specialized from a general box to one specifically associated with holy objects, and later expanded to encompass the sacred place housing such a reliquary, evolving into its modern abstract sense of any location hallowed by devotion or memory.
Analysis
the entire word 'shrine' is a simplex unit derived from old english 'scrīn', which itself was borrowed from latin. it functions as a single, unanalyzable morpheme in modern english.
Examples
pilgrims traveled for miles to visit the ancient shrine.
the small shrine on the mantelpiece held a photograph of her grandmother.
the battlefield is now a shrine to those who lost their lives there.