Both Uses of
profane
in
Measure for Measure
- If it please your honour, I know not well what they are; but precise villains they are, that I am sure of; and void of all profanation in the world that good Christians ought to have.†
Scene 2.1
- We cannot weigh our brother with ourself: Great men may jest with saints: 'tis wit in them; But, in the less, foul profanation.†
Scene 2.2 *
Definitions:
-
(1)
(profane as in: don't be profane) showing no respect for something thought of as sacred
-
(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) Much more rarely profane may mean that something is not sacred or concerned with religion; or that it is not holy because it is unconsecrated, impure or defiled. As a verb it can mean to spoil something considered holy by using it in a degrading or unworthy way.