One of the mysteries of the English language finally explained.
1The action of propitiating or appeasing a god, spirit, or person.‘he lifted his hands in propitiation’
- ‘In the context of hunting, young girls are the appropriate instrument for the propitiation of the goddess and the securing of her favour.’
- ‘The third… is that of expiation, propitiation and reconciliation… [and] the fourth end, finally, is that of impetration.’
- ‘Yet the tigers of the Chitwan Valley can be elusive in the absence of propitiation by Tharu priests.’
- ‘He submits as the substitute for sinners who cannot possibly atone for their own sins; that is, he submits to the expiation (wiping clean) of that sin and the propitiation (appeasing satisfaction) of God's justified anger.’
- ‘Similarly, there are other rituals outside their sphere of activity, such as the propitiation or exorcism of dangerous spirits.’
- 1.1 Atonement, especially that of Jesus Christ.
Late Middle English: from late Latin propitiatio(n-), from the verb propitiare (see propitiate).
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