Adjacent Words

Holy definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

HO'LY, a.
1. Properly, whole, entire or perfect, in a moral sense. Hence, pure in heart, temper or dispositions; free from sin and sinful affections. Applied to the Supreme Being, holy signifies perfectly pure, immaculate and complete in moral character; and man is more or less holy, as his heart is more or less sanctified, or purified from evil dispositions. We call a man holy,when his heart is conformed in some degree to the image of God, and his life is regulated by the divine precepts. Hence, holy is used as nearly synonymous with good, pious, godly.
Be ye holy; for I am holy. 1 Peter 1.
2. Hallowed; consecrated or set apart to a sacred use, or to the service or worship of God; a sense frequent in Scripture; as the holy sabbath; holy oil; holy vessels; a holy nation; the holy temple; a holy priesthood.
3. Proceeding from pious principles,or directed to pious purposes; as holy zeal.
4. Perfectly just and good; as the holy law of God.
5. Sacred; as a holy witness.
Holy of holies, in Scripture, 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 Ghost, or Holy Spirit, the Divine Spirit; the third person in the Trinity; the sanctifier of souls.
Holy war, a war undertaken to rescue the holy land, the ancient Judea, from the infidels; a crusade; an expedition carried on by christians against the Saracens in the eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth centuries; a war carried on in a most unholy manner.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: belonging to or derived from or associated with a divine power [ant: unhallowed, unholy] n
1: a sacred place of pilgrimage [syn: holy place, sanctum, holy]

Merriam Webster's

adjective (holier; -est) Etymology: Middle English, from Old English h?lig; akin to Old English h?l whole — more at whole Date: before 12th century 1. exalted or worthy of complete devotion as one perfect in goodness and righteousness 2. divine <for the Lord our God is holy — Psalms
99:9(Authorized Version)> 3. devoted entirely to the deity or the work of the deity <a holy temple> <holy prophets> 4. a. having a divine quality <holy love> b. venerated as or as if sacred <holy scripture> <a holy relic> 5. — used as an intensive <this is a holy mess> <he was a holy terror when he drank — Thomas Wolfe> — often used in combination as a mild oath <holy smoke> • holily adverb

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. (holier, holiest) 1 morally and spiritually excellent or perfect, and to be revered. 2 belonging to, devoted to, or empowered by, God. 3 consecrated, sacred. 4 used in trivial exclamations (holy cow!; holy mackerel!; holy Moses!; holy smoke!). Phrases and idioms: holier-than-thou colloq. self-righteous. Holy City 1 a city held sacred by the adherents of a religion, esp. Jerusalem. 2 Heaven. Holy Communion see COMMUNION. Holy Cross Day the festival of the Exaltation of the Cross, 14 Sept. holy day a religious festival. Holy Family the young Jesus with his mother and St Joseph (often with St John the Baptist, St Anne, etc.) as grouped in pictures etc. Holy Father the Pope. Holy Ghost = Holy Spirit. Holy Grail see GRAIL. holy Joe orig. Naut. sl. 1 a clergyman. 2 a pious person. Holy Land 1 W. Palestine, esp. Judaea. 2 a region similarly revered in non-Christian religions. Holy Name RC Ch. the name of Jesus as an object of formal devotion. Holy Office the Inquisition. holy of holies 1 the inner chamber of the sanctuary in the Jewish temple, separated by a veil from the outer chamber. 2 an innermost shrine. 3 a thing regarded as most sacred. holy orders see ORDER. holy place 1 (in pl.) places to which religious pilgrimage is made. 2 the outer chamber of the sanctuary in the Jewish temple. holy roller sl. a member of a religious group characterized by frenzied excitement or trances. Holy Roman Empire see ROMAN. Holy Rood Day 1 the festival of the Invention of the Cross, 3 May. 2 = Holy Cross Day. Holy Sacrament see SACRAMENT. Holy Saturday Saturday in Holy Week. Holy Scripture the Bible. Holy See the papacy or the papal court. Holy Spirit the Third Person of the Trinity, God as spiritually acting. holy terror see TERROR. Holy Thursday 1 Anglican Ch. Ascension Day. 2 RC Ch. Maundy Thursday. Holy Trinity see TRINITY. holy war a war waged in support of a religious cause. holy water water dedicated to holy uses, or blessed by a priest. Holy Week the week before Easter. Holy Writ holy writings collectively, esp. the Bible. Holy Year RC Ch. a period of remission from the penal consequences of sin, granted under certain conditions for a year usu. at intervals of 25 years. Etymology: OE halig f. Gmc, rel. to WHOLE

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.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(holier, holiest) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. If you describe something as holy, you mean that it is considered to be special because it is connected with God or a particular religion. To them, as to all Tibetans, this is a holy place. ADJ: usu ADJ n 2. A holy person is a religious leader or someone who leads a religious life. ADJ 3. see also holier-than-thou

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. 1. Sacred, consecrated, hallowed, blessed, devoted, set apart. 2. Righteous, saintly, devout, spiritual, saint-like, religious, godly, pious, pure, heavenly-minded, profoundly good.

Moby Thesaurus

Christlike, Christly, God-fearing, adored, all-knowing, all-powerful, all-seeing, all-wise, almighty, angelic, awesome, awful, blessed, boundless, celestial, changeless, chaste, clean, consecrated, creating, creative, deference, devout, divine, eternal, eternally the same, everlasting, faithful, glorified, glorious, godlike, godly, godly-minded, good, hallowed, heavenly, highest, holy-minded, homage, immaculate, immortal, immutable, ineffable, inenarrable, inexpressible, infinite, inviolable, inviolate, just, limitless, loving, luminous, majestic, making, merciful, numinous, obeisance, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, one, otherworldly, permanent, perpetual, pietistic, pious, prayerful, pure, pure in heart, purehearted, radiant, religious, revered, reverence, reverenced, reverent, reverential, righteous, sacred, sacrosanct, saintlike, saintly, sanctified, seraphic, shaping, sinless, sovereign, spiritual, spiritual-minded, spotless, supernal, supreme, timeless, ubiquitous, unbounded, unchanging, uncorrupted, undefiled, undefined, unearthly, unlimited, unspeakable, unsullied, untainted, untouchable, unutterable, unworldly, venerable, venerated, worshiped