American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth
Edition - n. A place of religious devotion or commemoration,
such as: - n. a place where devotion is paid to a deity or
deities, as in Shinto. - n. the tomb of a saint or other
venerated person. - n. a location where an important event in
the life of a holy person is thought to have occurred. - n. A
container or receptacle for sacred relics; a reliquary. - n. A
site hallowed by association with a revered person or object or
with an important event: Independence Hall, shrine of American
liberty. - v. To enshrine. Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia -
n. A box; an ark; a chest. - n. A box for holding the bones of
saints or other sacred relics; a reliquary. Portable shrines
containing relics were commonly arched boxes covered with
precious metal, enamels, and engraving, and in churches were
generally placed near the altar. See cut under - n. Hence A tomb
of a canonized or other sacred person; the mausoleum of a saint;
a tomb of shrine-like configuration