Sacrament
Etymology
From Latin “sacramentum,” which meant a binding oath — especially a Roman soldier’s military oath, and a sum of money pledged in a lawsuit — from “sacrare” (to consecrate), from “sacer” (sacred). Early Christian Latin used it to translate the Greek “mysterion” (mystery), shifting the word from a solemn pledge to a holy rite. The sense of a binding, consecrated commitment carried across.
noun · /SAK-ruh-munt/
A sacred rite believed to convey or signify divine grace.
What it names
Ritual acts (like baptism or communion) treated as channels of the holy, not mere symbols.
Example
For them the shared meal was almost a sacrament — ordinary bread, but weighted with something they couldn’t quite name.
Related idea
A ritual is any patterned symbolic action; a sacrament is a ritual a tradition holds to actually transmit sacred power or grace.