From WordNet (r) 2.0 (August 2003) [wn]:
sacred
adj 1: concerned with religion or religious purposes; "sacred
texts"; "sacred rites"; "sacred music" [ant:
profane]
2: worthy of respect or dedication; "saw motherhood as woman's
sacred calling"
3: made or declared or believed to be holy; devoted to a deity
or some religious ceremony or use; "a consecrated chursh";
"the sacred mosque"; "sacred elephants"; "sacred bread and
wine"; "sanctified wine" [syn: consecrated,
sanctified]
4: worthy of religious veneration; "the sacred name of Jesus";
"Jerusalem's hallowed soil" [syn: hallowed]
5: (often followed by `to') devoted exclusively to a single use
or purpose or person; "a fund sacred to charity"; "a
morning hour sacred to study"; "a private office sacred to
the President"
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Sacred \Sa"cred\, a. [Originally p. p. of OE. sacren to
consecrate, F. sacrer, fr. L. sacrare, fr. sacer sacred,
holy, cursed. Cf. Consecrate, Execrate, Saint,
Sexton.]
1. Set apart by solemn religious ceremony; especially, in a
good sense, made holy; set apart to religious use;
consecrated; not profane or common; as, a sacred place; a
sacred day; sacred service.
[1913 Webster]
2. Relating to religion, or to the services of religion; not
secular; religious; as, sacred history.
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Smit with the love of sacred song. --Milton.
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3. Designated or exalted by a divine sanction; possessing the
highest title to obedience, honor, reverence, or
veneration; entitled to extreme reverence; venerable.
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Such neighbor nearness to our sacred [royal] blood
Should nothing privilege him. --Shak.
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Poet and saint to thee alone were given,
The two most sacred names of earth and heaven.
--Cowley.
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4. Hence, not to be profaned or violated; inviolable.
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Secrets of marriage still are sacred held. --Dryden.
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5. Consecrated; dedicated; devoted; -- with to.
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A temple, sacred to the queen of love. --Dryden.
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6. Solemnly devoted, in a bad sense, as to evil, vengeance,
curse, or the like; accursed; baleful. [Archaic]
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But, to destruction sacred and devote. --Milton.
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Society of the Sacred Heart (R.C. Ch.), a religious order
of women, founded in France in 1800, and approved in 1826.
It was introduced into America in 1817. The members of the
order devote themselves to the higher branches of female
education.
Sacred baboon. (Zool.) See Hamadryas.
Sacred bean (Bot.), a seed of the Oriental lotus ({Nelumbo
speciosa} or Nelumbium speciosum), a plant resembling a
water lily; also, the plant itself. See Lotus.
Sacred beetle (Zool.) See Scarab.
Sacred canon. See Canon, n., 3.
Sacred fish (Zool.), any one of numerous species of
fresh-water African fishes of the family Mormyridae.
Several large species inhabit the Nile and were considered
sacred by the ancient Egyptians; especially {Mormyrus
oxyrhynchus}.
Sacred ibis. See Ibis.
Sacred monkey. (Zool.)
(a) Any Asiatic monkey of the genus Semnopithecus,
regarded as sacred by the Hindoos; especially, the
entellus. See Entellus.
(b) The sacred baboon. See Hamadryas.
(c) The bhunder, or rhesus monkey.
Sacred place (Civil Law), the place where a deceased person
is buried.
[1913 Webster]
Syn: Holy; divine; hallowed; consecrated; dedicated; devoted;
religious; venerable; reverend.
[1913 Webster] -- Sa"cred*ly, adv. -- Sa"cred*ness,
n.
[1913 Webster] Sacrific
From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (19 Sep 2003) [foldoc]:
sacred
<jargon> Reserved for exclusive use by something. The term
might mean only writable by whatever it is sacred to.
For example, "Register 7 is sacred to the interrupt handler"
would mean that if any other code changed the contents of
register 7, dire consequences would ensue.
[Jargon File]
(2002-12-30)
From Jargon File (4.4.4, 14 Aug 2003) [jargon]:
sacred
adj.
Reserved for the exclusive use of something (an extension of the
standard meaning). Often means that anyone may look at the sacred
object, but clobbering it will screw whatever it is sacred to. The
comment "Register 7 is sacred to the interrupt handler" appearing in
a program would be interpreted by a hacker to mean that if any other
part of the program changes the contents of register 7, dire
consequences are likely to ensue.