- sanctuary
- c.1340, "building set apart for holy worship," from Anglo-Fr. sentuarie, from O.Fr. sainctuarie, from L.L. sanctuarium "a sacred place, shrine" (especially the Hebrew Holy of Holies; see sanctum), also "a private room," from L. sanctus "holy" (see saint). By medieval Church law, fugitives or debtors enjoyed immunity from arrest in churches, hence transf. sense of "immunity from punishment" (c.1380). General (non-ecclesiastical) sense of "place of refuge or protection" is attested from 1568; as "land set aside for wild plants or animals to breed and live" it is recorded from 1879. Under English law, one claiming the right of sanctuary had 40 days to confess and accept permanent banishment. This was abolished in Britain 1625 in criminal cases, 1696, 1722 in civil cases.