- sanctify (v.)
- late 14c., seintefie "to consecrate," from Old French saintifier (12c.), from Late Latin sanctificare "to make holy," from sanctus "holy" (see saint) + root of facere "to make" (see factitious). Form altered to conform with Latin. Meaning "to render holy or legitimate by religious sanction" is from c.1400; transferred sense of "to render worthy of respect" is from c.1600. Related: Sanctified.