Etymologically
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holy

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˈhəʊ.li/, US /ˈhoʊ.li/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English holi, hali,[2][3] inherited from Old English hālig (“holy, sacred, consecrated”),[2][3] from Proto-Germanic *hailaga-,[2] from *hailaz (“whole”), the source of whole,[4][5] from Proto-Indo-European *kailo- (“whole, uninjured”), according to Watkins.[2] It is cognate with Old Frisian hēlich, Old Saxon hēlag, Dutch and German heilig, Old Norse heilagr and Gothic hailags.[3][4] The primary, pre-Christian sense is uncertain:[2] probably “that must be preserved whole, inviolate”,[2][3] or “of good augury”.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Old English, about 725 in Barnhart,[3] with the OED's first example of a deity held in religious awe from about 825.[6] After the conversion it was used for Latin sanctus.[2]

Semantic evolution

Old English hālig meant “divine, sacred, to be revered”, “consecrated” and “godly, perfect in religious life”.[2] Of persons devoted to God it is from about 950, and of things set apart for religious use from about 1000.[6] From its early forms come hallow, both the noun “a saint” and the verb, and halibut and Halloween.[2] Holy water and Holy Ghost (Old English hālig gāst, translating sanctus spiritus) were already Old English,[2][4] and Holy Spirit is from the 13th century.[4] Holy of holies, the inner sanctuary of the Temple in Jerusalem, is late Middle English, and holier than thou, from Isaiah, is from the early 20th century.[7] The general sense of high excellence is from 1599.[6]

Timeline

  • c. 725 – Old English hālig.[3]
  • c. 825 – of a deity.[6]
  • c. 950 – of persons devoted to God.[6]
  • c. 1000 – set apart for religious use.[6]
  • 13th century – Holy Spirit.[4]
  • 1599 – of high excellence.[6]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Belonging to or coming from God or a divine power; sacred.
  2. Worthy of worship or veneration.
  3. Living a deeply religious and moral life; saintly.
  4. Set apart for a religious purpose: holy water.
  5. (informal) Used as an intensive: a holy terror.

Word family

  • holily
  • holiness
  • holier-than-thou
  • Holyhead
  • holystone
  • Holy Roller
  • Holy Bread
  • Holy Father

Usage notes

The Century Dictionary (1895), quoted by Etymonline, distinguished holy, whose sanctity comes directly from God, from sacred, which may take its sanction from man;[2] the opposite of holy is sinful, that of sacred is secular.[2]

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ a b c d e f Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press