sacrilege
Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
sacrilege /ˈsakrɪlɪdʒ/
▶noun violation or misuse of something regarded as sacred or as having great value.
– derivatives
sacrilegious adjective,
sacrilegiously adverb.
sacrilegious adjective,
sacrilegiously adverb.
– origin ME: via OFr. from L. sacrilegium, from sacrilegus ‘stealer of sacred things’, from sacer, sacr- ‘sacred’ + legere ‘take possession of’.
'sacrilege' also found in these Oxford entries:
