noun
offering; sacrificial offering
Archaic term for an offering made to gods or the emperor, often a food or animal sacrifice.
古事記には、神に贄を捧げる儀式が記されている。
The Kojiki records rituals in which offerings are presented to the gods.
noun
Rare, archaic use for a gift, especially one given to a superior.
昔の文献では、贄が贈り物の意味で使われることがある。
In old documents, 贄 is sometimes used to mean a gift.
noun
Figurative use for a person or thing sacrificed for a cause; often appears in set phrases like 犠牲 (ぎせい) in modern Japanese, but 贄 can carry a more literary or archaic tone.
彼は戦争の贄となった。
He became a sacrifice of war.
The exact derivation is uncertain; the kanji 贄 is conventionally associated with offerings and sacrifices.