A shrine, from the Latin scrinium (‘box’; also use as a desk, like the French bureau) was originally a container, usually made of precious materials, used especially for a relic and often a cult image. By extension it has come to mean a holy or sacred place containing the reliquary or tomb dedicated to a particular hero, martyr, saint or similar figure of awe and respect. Shrines may be enclosures within temples, home altars, and sacred burial places. Secular meanings have developed by association, as noted below. A shrine at which offerings are made is called an altar.