Adjacent Words

Holy Office definitions

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Merriam Webster's

noun Date: circa 1741 — used formerly as the name of the Roman Catholic congregation of the curia charged with protecting faith and morals that is now called the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Office Of"fice, n. [F., fr. L. officium, for opificium; ops ability, wealth, holp + facere to do or make. See Opulent, Fact.] 1. That which a person does, either voluntarily or by appointment, for, or with reference to, others; customary duty, or a duty that arises from the relations of man to man; as, kind offices, pious offices. I would I could do a good office between you. --Shak. 2. A special duty, trust, charge, or position, conferred by authority and for a public purpose; a position of trust or authority; as, an executive or judical office; a municipal office. 3. A charge or trust, of a sacred nature, conferred by God himself; as, the office of a priest under the old dispensation, and that of the apostles in the new. Inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office. --Rom. xi. 13. 4. That which is performed, intended, or assigned to be done, by a particular thing, or that which anything is fitted to perform; a function; -- answering to duty in intelligent beings. They [the eyes] resign their office and their light. --Shak. Hesperus, whose office is to bring Twilight upon the earth. --Milton. In this experiment the several intervals of the teeth of the comb do the office of so many prisms. --Sir I. Newton. 5. The place where a particular kind of business or service for others is transacted; a house or apartment in which public officers and others transact business; as, the register's office; a lawyer's office. 6. The company or corporation, or persons collectively, whose place of business is in an office; as, I have notified the office. 7. pl. The apartments or outhouses in which the domestics discharge the duties attached to the service of a house, as kitchens, pantries, stables, etc. [Eng.] As for the offices, let them stand at distance. --Bacon. 8. (Eccl.) Any service other than that of ordination and the Mass; any prescribed religious service. This morning was read in the church, after the office was done, the declaration setting forth the late conspiracy against the king's person. --Evelyn. Holy office. Same as Inquisition, n., 3. Houses of office. Same as def. 7 above. --Chaucer. Little office (R.C.Ch.), an office recited in honor of the Virgin Mary. Office bearer, an officer; one who has a specific office or duty to perform. Office copy (Law), an authenticated or certified copy of a record, from the proper office. See Certified copies, under Copy. --Abbott. Office-found (Law), the finding of an inquest of office. See under Inquest. Office holder. See Officeholder in the Vocabulary

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Holy Ho"ly, a. [Compar. Holier; superl. Holiest.] [OE. holi, hali, AS. h[=a]lig, fr. h[ae]l health, salvation, happiness, fr. h[=a]l whole, well; akin to OS. h?lag, D. & G. heilig, OHG. heilac, Dan. hellig, Sw. helig, Icel. heilagr. See Whole, and cf. Halibut, Halidom, Hallow, Hollyhock.] 1. Set apart to the service or worship of God; hallowed; sacred; reserved from profane or common use; holy vessels; a holy priesthood. ``Holy rites and solemn feasts.'' --Milton. 2. Spiritually whole or sound; of unimpaired innocence and virtue; free from sinful affections; pure in heart; godly; pious; irreproachable; guiltless; acceptable to God. Now through her round of holy thought The Church our annual steps has brought. --Keble. Holy Alliance (Hist.), a league ostensibly for conserving religion, justice, and peace in Europe, but really for repressing popular tendencies toward constitutional government, entered into by Alexander I. of Russia, Francis I. of Austria, and Frederic William III. of Prussia, at Paris, on the 26th of September, 1815, and subsequently joined by all the sovereigns of Europe, except the pope and the king of England. Holy bark. See Cascara sagrada. Holy Communion. See Eucharist. Holy family (Art), a picture in which the infant Christ, his parents, and others of his family are represented. Holy Father, a title of the pope. Holy Ghost (Theol.),the third person of the Trinity; the Comforter; the Paraclete. Holy Grail. See Grail. Holy grass (Bot.), a sweet-scented grass (Hierochloa borealis and H. alpina). In the north of Europe it was formerly strewed before church doors on saints' days; whence the name. It is common in the northern and western parts of the United States. Called also vanilla, or Seneca, grass. Holy Innocents' day, Childermas day. Holy Land, Palestine, the birthplace of Christianity. Holy office, the Inquisition. Holy of holies (Script.), the innermost apartment of the Jewish tabernacle or temple, where the ark was kept, and where no person entered, except the high priest once a year. Holy One. (a) The Supreme Being; -- so called by way of emphasis. `` The Holy One of Israel.'' --Is. xliii. 14. (b) One separated to the service of God. Holy orders. See Order. Holy rood, the cross or crucifix, particularly one placed, in churches. over the entrance to the chancel. Holy rope, a plant, the hemp agrimony. Holy Saturday (Eccl.), the Saturday immediately preceding the festival of Easter; the vigil of Easter. Holy Spirit, same as Holy Ghost (above). Holy Spirit plant. See Dove plant. Holy thistle (Bot.), the blessed thistle. See under Thistle. Holy Thursday. (Eccl.) (a) (Episcopal Ch.) Ascension day. (b) (R. C. Ch.) The Thursday in Holy Week; Maundy Thursday. Holy war, a crusade; an expedition carried on by Christians against the Saracens in the Holy Land, in the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth centuries, for the possession of the holy places.