'consecration' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'consecratio', where 'con-' meant 'together/with' and 'sacrare' (from 'sacer') meant 'to make sacred' or 'sacred'.

'consecration' passed into English via Old French and Medieval Latin (Latin 'consecratio'); the Medieval Latin/Old French forms developed from Latin 'consecrare'/'consecratio' and eventually became the modern English word 'consecration'.

Initially, it meant 'the act of making or declaring something sacred'; over time this core meaning has remained but has also come to denote the specific formal ceremony or state resulting from that act.