Definition of "transubstantiation" [tran•sub•stan•ti•a•tion]

• Conversion of one substance into another. (noun)
• In many Christian churches, the doctrine holding that the bread and wine of the Eucharist are transformed into the body and blood of Jesus, although their appearances remain the same. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Though the Council was emphatic about its realism and its use of the term transubstantiation with regards to a real objective conversion of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ, it was not language that implied any sort of materialistic view of the presence of Christ in the Eucharist."
• "This was in opposition to the Protestants, who maintained that the term transubstantiation ought to be rejected on account of its novelty."
• "After approving the term transubstantiation, he adds [599],"