staurotheke means A reliquary containing fragments of the True Cross. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 85 out of 100.
Why “staurotheke” is a great word
STAUROTHEKE — [Noun] A reliquary designed exclusively to hold fragments of the True Cross. From stauro- (from Ancient Greek σταυρός, staurós, meaning "cross") + Ancient Greek θήκη (thḗkē, meaning "case, box"). Unlike a chasse (an ornate box for any sacred relic) or a phylactery (a portable amulet often for texts), a staurotheke is consecrated to a singular, world-historical splinter. It is the gleam of gold and enamel shaped as the cross itself, the worn silver lock securing a sliver of darkened wood, the velvet-lined cavity cradling a fragment believed to have borne the weight of divinity—an architecture of devotion for the paradoxical relic at the heart of a faith.
Etymology
From stauro- + Ancient Greek θήκη (thḗkē, “case, box”).
noun
- A reliquary containing fragments of the True Cross.