Skip to content

autel

altar

noun oh-TEL Rare

Usage Note

autel refers to the raised structure used for religious rites, found in churches, temples, or ancient sacred sites. It should not be confused with hôtel ('hotel'), which sounds similar but is unrelated. The phrase maître-autel designates the high altar, the main altar of a church.

Examples

"Le prêtre se tient devant l'autel."

Natural Translation

The priest stands before the altar.

Free starter pack

Building your French vocabulary?

Get the 100 most common French words as a free PDF — one email, no spam.

Explore French by topic