sanctuary

English

From Middle English seyntuarie, from Old French saintuaire, from Late Latin sanctuarium (“a sacred place, a shrine, a private cabinet, in Medieval Latin also temple, church, churchyard, cemetery, right of asylum”), from Latin sanctus (“holy, sacred”); see saint.

sanctuary (countable and uncountable, plural sanctuaries)

A place of safety, refuge, or protection.
My car is a sanctuary, where none can disturb me except for people who cut me off.
- 1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “The Last Night with the Dead”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 315:
  She saw him, even as she had last gazed upon him, pale, cold, and awful; but still he was there. The coffin was to her like a shrine; all that she held most dear and most precious was within its dark and silent sanctuary.
- 1963, Margery Allingham, “Foreword”, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
  ‘I understand that the district was considered a sort of sanctuary,’ the Chief was saying. ‘An Alsatia like the ancient one behind the Strand, or the Saffron Hill before the First World War. […]’
An area set aside for protection.
The bird sanctuary has strict restrictions on visitors so the birds aren't disturbed.
A state of being protected, asylum.
The government granted sanctuary to the defector, protecting him from his former government.
The consecrated (or sacred) area of a church or temple around its tabernacle or altar.

Synonyms of sanctuary

place of safety or protection

Afrikaans: vryplaas, toevlugsoord
Bulgarian: светилище (bg) n (svetilište)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 避難所／避难所 (zh) (bìnànsuǒ)
Czech: útočiště (cs) n
Danish: helle n, fristed n, tilflugtssted n
Estonian: pühamu (et), varjupaik
Finnish: turvapaikka (fi)
French: refuge (fr) m
German: Zuflucht (de) f, Herberge (de) f
Greek: καταφύγιο (el) n (katafýgio)
Ancient: ἄσυλον n (ásulon)
Hebrew : מקלט (he) m miklat, מפלט (he) m miflat, מסתור (he) m mistor, מחסה (he) n makhasse
Hungarian: szentély (hu)
Irish: tearmann m
Italian: rifugio (it) m
Japanese: 避難所 (ja) (ひなんじょ, hinanjo)
Latin: tūtum n
Macedonian: засо́лниште n (zasólnište), прибе́жиште n (pribéžište)
Maori: wāhi whakaruru, whakamaurutanga, punanga, kāinga punanga (Referring to a settlement)
Middle English: grith
Norwegian:
Bokmål: tilfluktssted n, asyl n, fristed n

Nynorsk: tilfluktsstad m, asyl n, fristad m
Old Church Slavonic: оубѣжище n (uběžište)
Old English: friþstōw f
Polish: sanktuarium (pl) n
Portuguese: refúgio (pt) m
Romanian: sanctuar (ro) n, refugiu (ro) n, adăpost (ro) n
Russian: убе́жище (ru) n (ubéžišče), прибе́жище (ru) n (pribéžišče), прию́т (ru) m (prijút)
Scottish Gaelic: tèarmann m
Swedish: fristad (sv) c, tillflykt (sv) c, tillflyktsort (sv) c
Tocharian B: waste, śarāṃ
Turkish: mabet (tr)
Ukrainian: приту́лок (uk) m (prytúlok)

area set aside for protection

Afrikaans: toevlugsoord, hawe
Bulgarian: резерват m (rezervat)
Estonian: varjupaik
Finnish: rauhoitusalue, suojelualue
French: réserve (fr) f
Greek: καταφύγιο (el) n (katafýgio)
Ancient: ἄσυλον n (ásulon)
Hebrew: שמורה (he) m shmurá
Hungarian: menedékhely (hu), védett terület
Indonesian: suaka (id)
Irish: tearmann m
Latin: sacrarium n, fanum n
Macedonian: резерва́т m (rezervát)
Maori: wāhi rāhui, whenua rāhui
Middle English: grith
Norwegian: reservat (no) n
Old English: friþstōw f
Polish: sanktuarium (pl) n
Portuguese: santuário (pt) m
Romanian: rezervație (ro) f
Russian: запове́дник (ru) m (zapovédnik), зака́зник (ru) m (zakáznik), резерва́ция (ru) f (rezervácija)

state of being protected

consecrated area