A sacrifice is something valuable that you give up for the sake of someone or something more important. In religion, it can also mean offering an animal, object, or food to a god.
From Latin *sacrificium*, from *sacer* 'holy' and *facere* 'to make or do', literally 'to make holy'. It originally referred to offerings made sacred by giving them to a deity.
To *sacrifice* literally meant 'to make something holy' by giving it up. Even today, when people sacrifice time, comfort, or money, they’re still treating those losses as meaningful offerings to a bigger goal. The word suggests that what you give up can transform what you’re aiming for.
The language of sacrifice has often been applied differently by gender: women’s unpaid care and career sacrifices were normalized and expected, while men’s sacrifices in war or work were publicly honored. Religious and cultural narratives sometimes idealized women’s self-sacrifice while limiting their autonomy.
When describing sacrifice, be explicit about who is sacrificing what and who benefits, rather than assuming certain genders should sacrifice more. Avoid romanticizing unequal burdens.
["give up","trade off","incur a cost","accept hardship"]
Women’s sacrifices in family, labor, and social movements have underpinned many institutions and rights gains, yet are frequently under-acknowledged or framed as natural duties.
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