Sanctification is the act or process of acquiring sanctity, of being made or becoming holy. "Sanctity" is an ancient concept widespread among religions. It is a gift given through the power of God to a person or thing which is then considered sacred or set apart in an official capacity within the religion, in general anything from a temple, to vessels, to days of the week, to a human believer who willingly accepts this gift can be sanctified. To sanctify is to literally "set apart for particular use in a special purpose or work and to make holy or sacred."  Etymologically, "sanctify" derives from the Latin verb  which in turn derives from sanctus "holy" and "to make".