profane

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See also: profané

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Middle French prophane, from Latin profānus (not religious, unclean), from pro- (before) + fānum (temple).

Pronunciation

Adjective

profane (comparative profaner or more profane, superlative profanest or most profane)

  1. Unclean; ritually impure; unholy, desecrating a holy place or thing.
  2. Not sacred or holy, unconsecrated; relating to non-religious matters, secular.
    profane authors
    • 1781, Edward Gibbon, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, volume II, London: W Strahan; and T Cadell, , →OCLC:
      A sonnet in praise of Rome was accepted as the effusion of genius and gratitude; and after the whole procession had visited the Vatican, the profane wreath was suspended before the shrine.
    • 1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 102:
      The sacred is the emotional force which connects the part to the whole; the profane or the secular is that which has been broken off from, or has fallen off, its emotional bond to the universe.
  3. Treating sacred things with contempt, disrespect, irreverence, or scorn; blasphemous, impious.
  4. Irreverent in language; taking the name of God in vain
    a profane person, word, oath, or tongue
    • 1611, The Holy Bible,  (King James Version), London: Robert Barker, , →OCLC, 1 Timothy 1:9:
      the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane
    • 1980, AA Book of British Villages, Drive Publications Ltd, page 102:
      When asked to explain why he became a landlord, he told the Archbishop of York it was so he could close the pub on Sundays, and suppress the profane language and singing that came through the bar windows.

Synonyms

Antonyms

(antonym(s) of not sacred or holy): faithful, holy, orthodox, religious, sacred, sacrosanct, spiritual

Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Noun

profane (plural profanes)

  1. A person or thing that is profane.
    • 1796, Matthew Lewis, The Monk, Folio Society, published 1985, page 244:
      The nuns were employed in religious duties established in honour of St Clare, and to which no profane was ever admitted.
  2. (Freemasonry) A person not a Mason.

Verb

profane (third-person singular simple present profanes, present participle profaning, simple past and past participle profaned)

  1. (transitive) To violate (something sacred); to treat with abuse, irreverence, obloquy, or contempt; to desecrate
    One should not profane the name of God.
    to profane the Scriptures
  2. (transitive) To put to a wrong or unworthy use; to debase; to abuse; to defile.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Translations

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin profānus.

Pronunciation

Adjective

profane (plural profanes)

  1. secular; lay
    Synonyms: laïque, séculier
    Antonym: sacré
  2. profane

Further reading

Galician

Verb

profane

  1. inflection of profanar:
    1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
    2. third-person singular imperative

Italian

Adjective

profane f pl

  1. feminine plural of profano

Noun

profane f

  1. plural of profana

Latin

Adjective

profāne

  1. vocative masculine singular of profānus

References

  • profane”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  • profane in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.

Portuguese

Verb

profane

  1. inflection of profanar:
    1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
    2. third-person singular imperative

Spanish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /pɾoˈfane/
  • Rhymes: -ane
  • Syllabification: pro‧fa‧ne

Verb

profane

  1. inflection of profanar:
    1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
    2. third-person singular imperative

Swedish

Adjective

profane

  1. definite natural masculine singular of profan