# holy
## English
### Alternative forms

* holie, hooly (archaic)
* Holy (when referring to someone or something important)
* 'oly (pronunciation spelling)

### Etymology

Inherited from Middle English holi, hali, from Old English hāliġ, hāleġ (“holy, consecrated, sacred, venerated, godly, saintly, ecclesiastical, pacific, tame”), from Proto-West Germanic *hailag, from Proto-Germanic *hailagaz (“holy, bringing health”), from Proto-Germanic *hailaz (“healthy, whole”), from Proto-Indo-European *kéh₂ilos (“healthy, whole”), equivalent to whole +‎ -y and a doublet of later wholly.
Cognate with Scots haly (“holy”), West Frisian hillich (“holy”), Low German hillig (“holy”), Dutch heilig (“holy”), German heilig (“holy”), Danish hellig (“holy”), Swedish helig (“holy”). More at whole.

### Pronunciation

* (Received Pronunciation) IPA: /ˈhəʊli/
* (US) enPR: hōʹlē, IPA: /ˈhoʊli/
* Audio (US):(file)
* Rhymes: -əʊli
* Homophones: wholly, holey (in accents without the wholly-holy split)

### Adjective

holy (comparative holier, superlative holiest)
* Dedicated to a religious purpose or a god.
    I'm planning to visit the holy city of Jerusalem this Christmas.
** 1877, E.B. Browning, Some account of the Greek Christian poets, page 147:... where he and Basil read together poems and philosophies, and holier things, or talked low and misopogonistcally of their fellow-student Julian’s bearded boding smile were his happiest days.
** 2021 July 20, Andrew Carey, “A fragile status quo on prayer rights at Jerusalem holy site comes under fresh strain”, in CNN‎:The growing sense that more and more religious Jews are now worshiping openly at the holy site was given support by a report over the weekend on Israel’s Channel 12, which broadcast footage of Jewish prayer sessions and Torah lessons it said were being held there daily.
** 2022 February 14, Chuck Johnston and Steve Almasy, “A pastor baptized people for decades using one wrong word. Now those are all considered invalid”, in CNN‎:“Through the Sacraments, God shares his holiness with us so that we, in turn, can make the world holier,” the conference says on its website.
** 2023 November 6, Peter Beaumont, Bethan McKernan, “Israeli troops encircle Gaza City and expected to enter in force within 48 hours”, in The Guardian‎, →ISSN:On Tuesday, a month since they were abducted, families of those kidnapped are expected to protest at the Western Wall plaza in Jerusalem, the holiest site in Judaism, as well as at the Knesset, over what they say are inadequate efforts to reach a deal with Hamas to release their loved ones.
* Revered in a religion.
    This tree is considered holy in my culture.
* Morally perfect or flawless, or nearly so.
    My grandmother is a very holy woman.
* Separated or set apart from (something unto something or someone else). (Can we add an example for this sense?)
* Set apart or dedicated for a specific purpose, or for use by a single entity or person.
* (slang) Used as an intensifier in various interjections.
    Holy cow, I can’t believe he actually lost the race!
    Those children next door are holy terrors!

#### Synonyms

* (dedicated to a religious purpose or a god): sacred, godly
* (revered in a religion): sacred, godly
* (perfect, flawless): faultless, flawless, perfect
* (separated or set apart from something): sanctified
* (set apart or dedicated for a specific purpose): reserved, special

#### Antonyms

* (antonym(s) of “revered in a religion”): profane, secular, unholy, worldly
* (antonym(s) of “perfect, flawless”): damaged, defective, faulty, flawed, imperfect
* (antonym(s) of “set apart or dedicated for a specific purpose”): common

#### Derived terms

* by the holy poker
* court holy bread
* court holy water
* Five Holy Wounds
* for the love of all that is holy
* holier than thou
* holier-than-thou
* holiest of holies
* holiness
* Holiness
* holy balls
* holy bark
* holy based
* holy basil
* Holy Bible
* Holy Blood
* Holy Body
* holy bone
* Holybourne
* Holybrook
* holy cannoli
* holy card
* holy carp
* holy catfish
* holy cats
* Holy Communion
* Holy Corner
* holy cow
* holy crap
* holy crap on a cracker
* holy crap on a stick
* holy cricket
* holy crickets
* Holy Cross
* Holycross
* holy cross
* holy cross frog
* holy crow
* holy damn
* holyday
* holy day
* holy day of obligation
* holy doodle
* Holy Eucharist
* Holy Family
* holy fire
* holy flax
* holy fool
* Holy Foreskin
* Holy Friday
* holy fuck
* holy fudge
* holy genocide
* Holy Ghost
* holy grail
* Holy Grail
* holy grass
* holy guacamole
* holy hand grenade
* holy Hannah
* Holyhead
* holy hell
* holy hour
* Holy Island
* holy kamoley
* holy kamoly
* Holy Koran
* Holy Liturgy
* Holy Loch
* holy macaroni
* holy mackerel
* holy man
* holy matrimony
* holy moley
* holy moly
* Holy Monday
* holy Moses
* Holy Mother
* Holy Mother Church
* holy mother of based
* Holy Mother of God
* Holyoak
* Holy of Holies
* holy orders
* holy piss
* holy poke
* Holy Prepuce
* Holy Quran
* Holy Qur'an
* Holy Qurbana
* Holy Qurbono
* Holy Qur’an
* holy ravioli
* Holy Redeemer
* Holy Roman Empire
* Holyrood
* holy rood
* Holy Sabbath
* holy sabbath
* holy Sabbath
* Holy Sacrifice
* Holy Sacrifice of the Mass
* Holy Saturday
* holy scripture
* Holy Scripture
* holy Scripture
* holy Scriptures
* Holy Scriptures
* holy scriptures
* Holy See
* Holy Sepulcher
* Holy Sepulchre
* holy shamoley
* holy shit
* holy shmoly
* holy show
* Holy Shroud
* holy smoke
* holy smokes
* holy snakes
* holy spirit
* Holy Spirit
* holystone
* holy stromboli
* Holy Sunday
* Holy Sunday Church
* Holy Synod
* holy synod
* holy terror
* Holy Thursday
* holy Toledo
* holy trinity
* holy Trinity
* Holy Trinity
* Holy Tuesday
* holy unblack metal
* Holy Vedas
* holy war
* holy water
* holy-water sprinkle
* holy water sprinkler
* Holy Wednesday
* Holy Week
* Holywell
* Holywood
* Holy Writ
* holy writ
* holy year
* in the name of all that is holy
* Mount of the Holy Cross
* pope-holy
* Stoke Holy Cross
* take holy orders

#### Related terms

* hallow
* hallowed

#### Translations

Aghwan: 𐕌𐕒𐕡𐕟𐕒𐕡𐕙 (muc̣'ur)
Albanian: shenjtë (sq)
Amharic: ቅዱስ (ḳədus)
Arabic: مُقَدَّس m (muqaddas)
Egyptian Arabic: مقدس (muʔaddas)
Armenian: սուրբ (hy) (surb)
Aromanian: sãntu, sãmtu
Azerbaijani: müqəddəs
Bashkir: мөҡәддәс (möqəddəs)
Belarusian: святы́ (svjatý), свяшчэ́нны (svjaščénny)
Bulgarian: свят (bg) (svjat), свеще́н (bg) (sveštén)
Catalan: sagrat (ca), sant (ca)
Chagatai: مقدس
Chinese:
Mandarin: 神聖 / 神圣 (zh) (shénshèng), 聖 / 圣 (zh) (shèng)
Cornish: sans
Czech: svatý (cs)
Dalmatian: suant
Danish: hellig
Dutch: heilig (nl), sacraal (nl), gewijd (nl)
Egyptian: (ḏsr)
Esperanto: sankta
Estonian: püha
Faroese: heilagur, halgur
Finnish: pyhä (fi)
French: saint (fr), sacré (fr)
Friulian: sant
Galician: sacro (gl), sagrado (gl)
Ge'ez: ቅዱስ (ḳədus)
Georgian: წმინდა (c̣minda)
German: heilig (de)
Gothic: 𐍅𐌴𐌹𐌷𐍃 (weihs)
Greek: άγιος (el) (ágios)
Ancient: ἅγιος (hágios), ἱερός (hierós), ὅσιος (hósios)
Greenlandic: illernartoq
Guaraní: marangatu (gn)
Hebrew: קדוש \ קָדוֹשׁ (he) (kadósh)
Hidatsa: xubáa
Hindi: पवित्र (hi) f (pavitra)
Hungarian: szent (hu)
Hunsrik: heilich
Icelandic: heilagur (is), helgur
Indonesian: kudus (id), keramat (id)
Irish: beannaithe, naofa
Istriot: santo
Italian: sacro (it)
Japanese: 神聖 (ja) (しんせい, shinsei), 聖なる (ja) (せいなる, sei naru)
Kashubian: swiãti
Korean: 거룩한 (ko) (georukhan), 신성한 (ko) (sinseonghan)
Latin: sacer (la)
Latvian: svēts (lv)
Lithuanian: šventas
Luxembourgish: helleg (lb)
Macedonian: свет m (svet)
Malay: suci (ms)
Malayalam: പരിശുദ്ധ (ml) (pariśuddha), വിശുദ്ധ (ml) (viśuddha)
Maori: tapu (mi)
Mari: шнуй (šnuj)
Navajo: diyin
Norman: saint
Norwegian:
Bokmål: hellig (no)
Nynorsk: heilag
Occitan: sant (oc), sacrat (oc)
Old Occitan: sant
Old Church Slavonic: свѧтъ (svętŭ)
Old English: hāliġ, hāleġ
Ottoman Turkish: مقدس (mukaddes), شریف (şerif), عزیز (ʼazîz)
Persian: مقدس (fa) (moqaddas), اسپنتا (espantâ), سپنتا (fa) (sepantâ)
Plautdietsch: heilich
Polish: święty (pl) m
Portuguese: santo (pt), sagrado (pt), sacro (pt)
Rapa Nui: tapu
Romanian: sfânt (ro)
Romansch: sontg, sogn, son, sench, sonch
Russian: свято́й (ru) (svjatój), свяще́нный (ru) (svjaščénnyj)
Sardinian: santu
Scots: haly
Scottish Gaelic: naomh, coisrigte
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: свет
Roman: svet (sh)
Sicilian: santu (scn)
Slovak: svätý
Slovene: svet (sl)
Sorbian:
Lower Sorbian: swěty
Spanish: santo (es), sagrado (es)
Swedish: helig (sv)
Tatar: мөкаддәс (mökaddäs)
Thai: ศักดิ์สิทธิ์ (th) (sàk sìt)
Tibetan: please add this translation if you can
Turkish: kutsal (tr), mukaddes (tr)
Turkmen: mukaddes
Ugaritic: 𐎖𐎄𐎌 (qdš)
Ukrainian: святи́й (svjatýj), свяще́нний (svjaščénnyj)
Urdu: مقدس (ur) (muqaddas)
Uyghur: مۇقەددەس (muqeddes)
Uzbek: muqaddas (uz)
Venetan: santo
Vietnamese: thánh (vi) (聖), thần thánh (vi)
Welsh: sanctaidd (cy)
Yiddish: הייליק (heylik)
Yup'ik: tanqilria :
    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

### Interjection

holy
* (slang) An expression of astonishment and awe.
    Synonym: holy shit

#### Usage notes

* (MTE) When spoken aloud, the first syllable is elongated ("Hoooly!") and stress is placed on the second syllable.

### Noun

holy (plural holies)
* (archaic) A thing that is extremely holy; used almost exclusively in Holy of Holies.
** 1882, Franz von Reber, Joseph Thacher Clarke, History of Ancient Art, page 146:The holy of holies, a cubical space of ten cubits on the side, was separated from the larger antechamber by four columns, which were also covered with gold and stood upon silver sockets; they bore a second curtain of four colors.

#### Derived terms

* holiest of holies
* Holy of Holies

#### Translations
### Anagrams

* hylo-

## Middle English
### Etymology 1

Inherited from Old English hāliġ, from Proto-West Germanic *hailag, from Proto-Germanic *hailagaz; equivalent to hool +‎ -y.

#### Alternative forms

* hooly, holi, hooli, holye, holie, holly, hoolly, holli, hoolli, oly, oli, wholy, woly, hole, hali, haly, hayly, aly, ali, hale, hely, heli, holiȝ, holiȝe, holia, halge, halege, halȝe, hallȝhe, haliȝ, haliȝe, halie

#### Adjective

holy (plural and weak singular holye, comparative holyere, superlative holyest)
* Dedicated to or separated for a religious purpose; sacred, consecrated.
* Characterized by virtue or perfection.
** 1407, The Testimony of William Thorpe, page 37:[…] of moost holi lyuynge, and best taught and moost wyse of heuenly wysdom […] […] of the most holy living, and the best-taught and wisest heavenly wisdom […]

##### Related terms

* halyday
* halywater
* Holigost
* holite
* holy bred
* holy crosse
* holy rode
* holy writ
* holyhede
* holyliche
* holynesse
* holyschupe
* lyfholy
* lyfholynesse
* pompholy
* popholy
* þurȝhali

##### Descendants

* English: holy
* Scots: haly, halie
* Yola: holly, holy

#### Noun

holy (plural holies)
* The state of being holy; holiness.
* One who is sanctified or made holy; a saint, hallow
* A sacred place; a sanctuary

##### Derived terms

* alle goddis holy
* holy of holies

##### Descendants

* English: holy

#### References

* “hōlī, adj.(2).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 4 August 2018.
* “hōlī, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 4 August 2018.

### Etymology 2

From hol +‎ -y.

#### Alternative forms

* holi, holly, holli

#### Adjective

holy
* Full of holes or cavities; porous, spongy; hollow.

##### Derived terms

* holinesse

##### Descendants

* English: holey

#### References

* “holi, adj.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 4 August 2018.

## Yola
### Adjective

holy
* Alternative form of holly
** 1867, “THE WEDDEEN O BALLYMORE”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 6, page 96:To our pleoughès an mulk-pylès till a neeshte holy die.To our ploughs and our milk-pails till the next holiday.

### References

* Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 96