Meaning

noun the table in Christian churches where communion is given

noun a raised structure on which gifts or sacrifices to a god are made

originInherited from Middle English auter, inherited from Old English altar and borrowed from Old French auter, both derived from Latin altāre, probably related to adolere (“burn”); thus "burning place", influenced by altus (“high”). Displaced native Middle English wēved.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0