holy

B1 Topic:Religion & Belief

US /ˈhoʊli/ UK /ˈhəʊli/ See IPA manual

Homophones

wholly /ˈhoʊ.li/

Minimal pairs

Sounds like holly /ɑ/ vs /oʊ/

Freq #1021

Meanings

1

adj
Connected with God or religion and treated with deep respect.

I am planning to visit the holy city of Jerusalem.
2

adj
Deeply religious and morally good.

My grandmother is a very holy woman.
3

adj
Used in exclamations to show surprise or shock.

Holy cow, I can't believe he actually won!

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · connected with god or... sacred

2 adj · deeply religious and... godly

More blessed celestialdevoutfuldivine hallowed heavenly sanctimonious

Opposites

profane secular unhallowed unholy worldly

Word family

Forms holierholiestholily

Derived forms halibuthalidom holidayholier-than-thouholilyholinessholinightholybourneholybrookholycaustholycrossholyday

Related forms hallow hallowed

Appears in

Phrases (5)

See all

holy day
a day set aside for religious observance

Adjective + noun
holy man
a man respected for exceptional religious devotion or spiritual qualities

Adjective + noun
holy oil
consecrated oil, often mixed with fragrant balsam, used in religious ceremonies

Adjective + noun
holy place
a sacred location that people visit for religious reasons

Adjective + noun
holy water
water blessed by a priest for use in religious ceremonies

Adjective + noun

Simplified etymology

Holy is an Old English word related to Dutch and German heilig. It derives from the same ancient root as whole.

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”). M…

holi Middle English hāliġ Old English *hailag Proto-West Germanic *hailagaz Proto-Germanic *hailaz Proto-Germanic *kéh₂ilos Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Religion & Belief

External links

# holy

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈhoʊli/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈhəʊli/
**Frequency rank:** 1021

## Meanings
1. Connected with God or religion and treated with deep respect.
2. Deeply religious and morally good.
3. Used in exclamations to show surprise or shock.

## Examples
- I am planning to visit the holy city of Jerusalem.
- My grandmother is a very holy woman.
- Holy cow, I can't believe he actually won!

## Synonyms
- blessed
- celestial
- devoutful
- divine
- godly
- hallowed
- heavenly
- sacred
- sanctimonious

## Antonyms
- profane
- secular
- unhallowed
- unholy
- worldly

## Derived Forms
- halibut
- halidom
- holiday
- holier-than-thou
- holily
- holiness
- holinight
- holybourne
- holybrook
- holycaust
- holycross
- holyday

## Related Forms
- hallow
- hallowed

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: holi
- Root: hāliġ
- Root: *hailag
- Root: *hailagaz
- Root: *hailaz
- Root: *kéh₂ilos

## 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”). M…

## AI Etymology
Holy is 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”). In current use, the main senses are “Connected with God or religion and treated with deep respect” and “Deeply religious and morally good”.

## Topics
- Religion & Belief

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