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Glite Dictionary
🕊️ A holy person 🗿 A saint statue
santo

santo

8.7
A carved or painted statue of a saint used in worship
  • noun
  • /ˈsɑn.toʊ/
  • US
translation icon : santo
  • The artist specializes in creating hand-carved santos that reflect the traditions of her culture.
  • carved santos
  • wooden santos
  • painted santos

Examples

  • In her home, Maria keeps several santos as symbols of her faith and devotion.

  • You see El Chapo's son, when he was arrested, had a Santo Nino that Torcha on his chest, which is a it's a holy kid of a Torcha.

  • Intertwined in Wixarika narratives of community identity are mestizos (people of mixed Indian and Spanish ancestry) and santos (religious icons of the Catholic Church).

    Academic text (2006)

  • The church displayed a beautiful collection of santos on the altar during the festival.

Synonyms

statue
vssanto
381 1.0

A carved figure, often life-size, of a person or animal made from stone

is a carved or painted devotional image of a holy person in Spanish use
icon
vssanto
25 6.7

A painted image of a holy person used in Eastern Orthodox worship

is a devotional image of a holy person used in Spanish Catholic practice
graven image
vssanto
  • Archaic
3 9.3

A statue or object that people worship instead of a god

is an accepted devotional image used respectfully in local religious practice

Compounds

palo santo
9.9

A South American tree with fragrant wood used for incense and essential oil

How Big

monument
160 3.4
statue
381 1.0
santo
  • US
8.7
statuette
9 5.4

Surface Forms

santo singular
santos plural

Etymology

The word santo comes from Spanish for 'holy', from Latin sanctus which also means 'holy'. Because carved or painted images show holy people they were called santos, so a santo is a statue or image used in worship.