E. Cobham Brewer 18101897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Os Sacrum. (See LUZ.)
A triangular bone situate at the lower part of the vertebral column, of which it is a continuation. Some say that this bone was so called because it was in the part used in sacrifice, or the sacred part; Dr. Nash says it is so called because it is much bigger than any of the vertebræ; but the Jewish rabbins say the bone is called sacred because it resists decay, and will be the germ of the new body at the resurrection. (Hudibras, part iii. canto 2.)