sacrilege

Circa 1300, original sense “stealing something sacred”. Borrowed from Old French sacrilege, from Latin sacrilegium, from sacrilegus (“sacrilegious”), from phrase sacrum legere, from sacrum (from sacer (“sacred, holy”)) + legō (“gather; take, steal”), from Proto-Indo-European *seh₂k- and *leǵ-. Sense of “profanation” from late 14th century.[1]

Unrelated to religion, which is ultimately from ligō (“I tie, bind, or bandage”), from Proto-Indo-European *leyǵ- (“to bind”).

sacrilege (usually uncountable, plural sacrileges)

1. Desecration, profanation, misuse or violation of something regarded as sacred.

• sacrilegious

• Gilcrease

From sacrilegus (“sacrilegious”), from sacer (“sacred, holy”) + legō (“gather; take, steal”).

sacrilegē (not comparable)

1. sacrilegiously, impiously

• (impiously): irreligiōsē, nefāriē

• sacrilege in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• sacrilege in The Perseus Project (1999) Perseus Encyclopedia‎

First attested at the end of the 12th century, borrowed from Latin sacrilegium[1].

sacrilege m (oblique plural sacrileges, nominative singular sacrileges, nominative plural sacrilege)

1. sacrilege

• English: sacrilege
• French: sacrilège