shrine (shrīn)
n.

1. A place of religious devotion or commemoration, such as:
   1. a place where devotion is paid to a deity or deities, as in Shinto.
   2. the tomb of a saint or other venerated person.
   3. a location where an important event in the life of a holy person is thought to have occurred.
2. A container or receptacle for sacred relics; a reliquary.
3. A site hallowed by association with a revered person or object or with an important event: Independence Hall, shrine of American liberty.

tr.v., shrined, shrin·ing, shrines.
To enshrine.

[Middle English, from Old English scrīn, box, from Latin scrīnium, case for books or papers.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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