sacred

adj 1: concerned with religion or religious purposes; "sacred

texts"; "sacred rites"; "sacred music" [ant: {profane}]

2: worthy of respect or dedication; "saw motherhood as woman's

sacred calling"

3: made or declared or believed to be holy; devoted to a deity

or some religious ceremony or use; "a consecrated chursh";

"the sacred mosque"; "sacred elephants"; "sacred bread and

wine"; "sanctified wine" [syn: {consecrated}, {sanctified}]

4: worthy of religious veneration; "the sacred name of Jesus";

"Jerusalem's hallowed soil" [syn: {hallowed}]

5: (often followed by `to') devoted exclusively to a single use

or purpose or person; "a fund sacred to charity"; "a

morning hour sacred to study"; "a private office sacred to

the President"

sacred

Reserved for the exclusive use of something (an extension of

the standard meaning). Often means that anyone may look at

the sacred object, but clobbering it will screw whatever it is

sacred to. The comment "Register 7 is sacred to the interrupt

handler" appearing in a program would be interpreted by a

hacker to mean that if any ▫other▫ part of the program changes

the contents of register 7, dire consequences are likely to

ensue.

[{Jargon File}]