sacrificial
adj.adj. offered as a gift to a god, or given up to help someone else or achieve a goal.
adj. relating to or used in a sacrifice; describes an object or person offered to a deity or surrendered for a higher purpose.
He made a sacrificial move to save his queen in the chess game.
The ancient temple contained a sacrificial altar where offerings were placed during the harvest festival.
In many classic tragedies, the hero's downfall serves a sacrificial function, restoring moral order to the community at the cost of their own life or happiness.
Borrowed from Latin sacrificiālis (“sacrificial”), from sacrificium (“sacrifice”), from sacrificus (“sacrificial”), from sacrificō (“sacrifice”), from sacer (“sacred, holy”) + faciō (“do, make”). By surface analysis, sacrifice + -ial.
Often used metaphorically in sports, games, and politics to describe a minor loss accepted for a major gain.