hierophanicadj.
/ˌhʌɪ(ə)rəˈfanɪk/, U.S. /ˌhaɪ(ə)rəˈfænɪk/ Sacred; that embodies sacred power.
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society > faith > aspects of faith > holiness > [adjective]
hallowedc900
holyc1000
blessedc1200
blissfula1225
seelya1225
yblessed1297
sacred13..
saint1377
devoutc1380
divinec1380
consecratec1386
dedicatec1386
benedighta1400
happyc1405
sillya1450
sacrate?a1475
sanctificatec1485
sacrificed?1504
sacrea1535
religious1549
vowed1585
anointed1595
devote1597
devoted1597
consecrated1599
sacrosanct1601
sanctimonious1604
sanctified1607
dedicated1609
divined1624
sacrosanctious1629
reverend1631
celebrate1632
divinified1633
sacrosanctified1693
sanctimonial1721
sacramental1851
divinized1852
sacral1882
sanct1890
sanctifiable1894
sacramented1914
hierophanic1927
kramat1947
sacralized1979
1927 L. V. Rule Forerunners of Lincoln xx. 99 Royal governors had made destructive inroads on the hierophanic authority... The civil administration had ceased to be absorbed in and entirely dependent on the church.
1963 Hist. Relig. Summer 68 In Yucatan in the various Santos which the Indians possess, pictures, crucifixes, crosses, statues: of them all only some are hierophanic, only some possess the power.
1979 P. L. Berger Heretical Imperative iii. 90 The accounts of hierophanic experience must be taken with utmost seriousness as one reflects about them.
2002 R. A. Schoenherr Goodbye Father ix. 125 We have seen that the opposition between hierarchic and hierophanic power is the primal paradox in organized religion.
2016 V. Adrahtas in T. S. Willert & L. Molokotos-Liederman Innovation in Orthodox Christian Trad.? xi. 235 The hierophanic experience of indigenous Australians serves as a token of humanity's inherent need to experience the Sacred.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, June 2018; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1927