transubstantiation

Etymology

Borrowed from Medieval Latin trānsubstantiātiō.

noun

1. (Roman Catholicism) The doctrine holding that the bread and wine of the Eucharist are essentially transformed into the body and blood of Jesus.
   I was openly dismissive about transubstantiation, by which the host is consecrated, and according to Catholic doctrine, literally turns from mere bread into the body of Christ. “But all the atoms stay the same!” I would insist. “That makes no sense!” 2020-07-06, Helen Lewis, “How J. K. Rowling Became Voldemort”, in The Atlantic
2. (by extension) Conversion of one substance into another.