Synonyms for libations


Grammar : Noun
Spell : lahy-bey-shuh n
Phonetic Transcription : laɪˈbeɪ ʃən


Définition of libations

Origin :
  • late 14c., "pouring out of wine in honor of a god," from Latin libationem (nominative libatio) "a drink offering," noun of action from past participle stem of libare "pour out (an offering)," from PIE *(s)leib- "to pour, drop" (cf. Greek leibein "to pour, make a libation"), an enlargement of root *lei- "to pour, to flow" (cf. Sanskrit riyati "to let run;" Greek aleison "a wine vessel;" Lithuanian lieju "to pour," lytus "rain;" Hittite lilai- "to let go;" Albanian lyse, lise "a stream;" Welsh lliant "a stream, a sea," llifo "to flow;" Old Irish lie "a flood;" Breton livad "inundation;" Gaelic lighe "a flood, overflow;" Gothic leithu "fruit wine;" Old Church Slavonic liti, lêju, Bulgarian leja "I pour;" Czech liti, leji, Old Polish lić "to pour"). Transferred sense of "liquid poured out to be drunk" is from 1751. Related: Libations.
  • noun oblation
Example sentences :
  • They called it with a loud voice, and offered it libations of milk and blood.
  • Extract from : « The Phantom World » by Augustin Calmet
  • So far I have referred in detail only to the offering of libations.
  • Extract from : « The Evolution of the Dragon » by G. Elliot Smith
  • Heathen nations do it by sacrifices, libations, and offerings.
  • Extract from : « Hannibal » by Jacob Abbott
  • He, born a god,” says Euripides, “is poured out in libations to the gods.
  • Extract from : « The Sacred Tree » by J. H. Philpot
  • But expect not other honours or libations, for these are the last which Cleopatra brings.
  • Extract from : « Plutarch's Lives, Volume IV » by Aubrey Stewart
  • The ceremony of the libations seems to correspond to our “grace after meat.”
  • Extract from : « Plutarch's Lives, Volume IV » by Aubrey Stewart
  • What sacrifices and libations the rustics offered to Pan and the Nymphs!
  • Extract from : « Essays on the Greek Romances » by Elizabeth Hazelton Haight
  • Libations of milk were poured through a stone in the Western Isles.
  • Extract from : « Palestine » by Claude Reignier Conder
  • Hence also the food and libations and the rich burial gifts.
  • Extract from : « The New Stone Age in Northern Europe » by John M. Tyler
  • And why may we not be at feasts where libations are made to Apollo or Jupiter?
  • Extract from : « Religious Studies, Sketches and Poems » by Harriet Beecher Stowe

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Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019