Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - sacrament

 noun  Etymology: Middle English sacrement, ~, from Anglo-French & Late Latin; Anglo-French, from Late Latin ~um, from Latin, oath of allegiance, obligation, from sacrare to consecrate  Date: 13th century  1.  a. a Christian rite (as baptism or the Eucharist) that is believed to have been ordained by Christ and that is held to be a means of divine grace or to be a sign or symbol of a spiritual reality  b. a religious rite or observance comparable to a Christian ~  2. capitalized  a. communion 2a  b. Blessed Sacrament  3. something likened to a religious ~ saw voting as a ~ of democracy