Latin 'altare' combines 'high' and 'hearth,' reflecting the raised platforms where Romans made burnt offerings.
A table or raised structure on which sacrifices are offered or religious rites performed; in Christian churches, the table used for the celebration of the Eucharist.
From Old English 'alter,' borrowed from Latin 'altāre' (plural 'altāria'), meaning a high altar or place for burnt offerings. The Latin word is traditionally derived from 'altus' (high, deep) combined with 'āra' (altar, hearth), though some scholars dispute this etymology and suggest 'altāre' may derive from 'adolēre' (to burn ritually). The word entered Old English through Christian Latin and displaced any native Germanic
The English phrase 'to lead someone to the altar' (meaning to marry them) reflects the fact that Christian marriage ceremonies were traditionally performed at the church altar — making it one of the few expressions where a word for a sacrificial structure is used in connection with weddings.