holy

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   Connected with God or religion and treated with deep respect.

   I am planning to visit the holy city of Jerusalem.

2. 2
   adj

   Deeply religious and morally good.

   My grandmother is a very holy woman.

3. 3
   adj

   Used in exclamations to show surprise or shock.

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

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…

Topics