If 'dictionary' Noah Webster were alive today, would he sanction the word “sanction'? - North Texas e-News - Dictionary

In the mid-1960s, Roman Catholicism ‘sanctioned’ the eating of meat on Fridays (except on Good Friday in Lent). Today we follow the news that the USA wants to put more ‘sanctions’ on Russia and on Iran. When used as a verb, it appears to mean the opposite from its use as a noun. Actually, whether a verb or a noun, it can mean either a penalty or permission depending on the context.

‘Sanction’ derives from the Latin ‘sanctus’ meaning holy. In the Middle Ages, most sanctions issued in Europe were of church origin. The word ‘haram’ in Arabic means something holy as in ‘Haram al-Sharif’* in Jerusalem where the Dome of the Rock** and the Al Aqsa Mosque dominate what is revered as the third holiest site in Islam (after Mecca and Medina). From the same root (HRM) comes the word ‘harem’ meaning ‘prohibited’ as that part of the house where the women live. Hebrew (khodesh) and Arabic (quds) come from the same root—meaning ‘holy.’ In the Qur’an, Al-Quds is Jerusalem.

Among some groups in the Pacific Islands, the word ‘taboo,’ or a close variant, means some word (or food) that is prohibited if it is too repulsive or too sacred. From the earliest days of world trade, a ‘pidgin English’*** evolved to simplify trade. In some places, it became a common unifying language, especially If many distinct native languages were in one region. Christians, in areas that speak pidgin English, refer to the third person in the Trinity as “Taboo Spirit.” In many parts of the world we find a mixing of the ‘holy’ and the ‘prohibited.’

As more economic and political sanctions are imposed these days by super powers, it may be that the word ‘sanction’ is being used to support the idea that we are involved in “holy wars” that we hope won’t become deadly wars.

*Meaning Noble (Sharif) Sanctuary (Haram)

**The Rock under the Dome is where Biblical and Qur’anic tradition believe Abraham nearly sacrificed his son (Isaac in Genesis; Ishmael in the Qur’an).

*** “Business English” evolved into “Pidgin English.”