Thread: The word "sacrifice"

Antonio -- Although you probably won't use it very often, the word жрец -- "a priest in ancient paganism" -- comes from the same root as the verb (по)жертвовать, "to sacrifice." So, the жертва was the animal (or person!) tied up on the altar, and the жрец was THIS guy:



P.S. However, священник is the correct word for "priest" in the modern sense, whether you mean Russian Orthodox, Catholic, Buddhist, etc.

Thanks Throbert.
This is what I called an "illustrative" etymology.

Originally Posted by Throbert McGee

the word жрец -- "a priest in ancient paganism" -- comes from the same root as the verb (по)жертвовать, "to sacrifice."

Brilliant! I've never known "жрец" and "жертва" are etymologically related.
But I checked wiktionary жрец — Викисловарь - you are right!

Moreover, among others, this Indo-European root is also related to Latin grātēs мн. «благодарность» (gratefulness).

It is logical since the Slavic "ж" sound often corresponds to the Indo-European "g" sound. Even in the modern English, "g" has two pronunciations: the "hard" one (as in "go") and the "soft" one (as in "gentle") (not in the Russian sense of hardness/softness). The "soft" English "g" is transcribed as "дж" in Russian, and the "soft" French "g" (as the second "g" in "garage") is pretty much like Russian "ж". So, "ж-р-т" and "g-r-t" roots do correspond.

If the Latin grātēs is related to the Russian "жертва" - it means English "gratis, grateful, gratitude, gratuity" etc.) are also all cognates to "жрец, жертва, жертвовать".