Standard Lemma guide
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
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adj
Dedicated to a religious purpose or a god.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Synonyms: sacred, godly
Antonyms: none provided
adj
Revered in a religion.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Synonyms: sacred, godly
Antonyms: profane, secular, unholy, worldly
adj
Morally perfect or flawless, or nearly so.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Synonyms: faultless, flawless, perfect
Antonyms: damaged, defective, faulty, flawed, imperfect
adj
Separated or set apart from (something unto something or someone else).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: consecrated, hallowed, sanctified, divined, holy, sacrate, sacred
Antonyms: none provided
adj
Set apart or dedicated for a specific purpose, or for use by a single entity or person.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: reserved, special
Antonyms: common
adj
Used as an intensifier in various interjections.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: slang
Synonyms: blessed, cursed, infernal, 4ucking, accursed, bally, blasted, bleeding, bleeping, blimming, blinking, bloody, blooming, confounded, consarned, cotton-picking, cowson, dadburn, dadgum, dagnabbed, damblasted, damn, damnable, damned, dang, danged, darn, darned, dashed, deuced, doggone, dratted, effing, ever-loving, fecking, flaming, flipping, freaking, fricking, frigging, fucking, fudging, fugging, furshlugginer, jiggered, goddam, goddamn, goddamned, goddarned, godforsaken, goldurn, gormed, goshdarn, goshdarned, hecking, holy, living, mollyfogging, motherfucking, pissing, plain, precious, raasclaat, ruddy, sniggered, sodding, stinking
Antonyms: none provided
adj
Alternative letter-case form of holy used when referring to an important figure, such as God, or to an important item or event.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: alt-of
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
intj
An expression of astonishment and awe.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: slang
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: holy shit
Antonyms: none provided
noun
A thing that is extremely holy; used almost exclusively in Holy of Holies.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: archaic
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
adjective
belonging to or derived from or associated with a divine power
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: unholy
noun
a sacred place of pilgrimage
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: holy place, sanctum
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: topographic point, place, spot
History
From Middle English ali, aly, hale, halege, hali, halȝe, hayly, holi, holia, holie, holiȝ, holy, hooly, oli, oly, wholy, woly, from Old English hāleġ, hāliġ (“holy, sacred; healthy, sound”), from Proto-West Germanic *hailag, from Proto-Germanic *hailagaz (“holy, sacred”), from Proto-Germanic *hailaz (“healthy; whole”), from Proto-Indo-European *kéh2ilos (“intact, whole; complete; hale, healthy, sound”), equivalent to whole + -y and a doublet of later wholly. Cognates Cognate with Scots halie, haly (“holy”), Yola holly, holy (“holy”), Saterland Frisian helig (“holy”), Alemannic German, Dutch, and German heilig (“holy, sacred”), Cimbrian hòolig (“holy”), Luxembourgish helleg (“holy”), Vilamovian haeliḱ, haliky, hȧlikjy, hǡliḱ (“holy”), Yiddish הייליק (heylik, “holy”), Danish and Norwegian Bokmål hellig (“holy”), Faroese heilagur (“holy”), Icelandic heilagur, helgur (“holy”), Norwegian Nynorsk heilag, heilag’u (“holy”), Swedish helig (“holy”), Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌹𐌻𐌰𐌲𐍃 (hailags, “holy”); also Latin cael, caelus, caelum, coelus, coelum (“heaven; sky; climate, weather”), Belarusian цэ́лы (cély, “entire, whole”), Bulgarian цял (cjal, “entire, full, intact, whole; real, regular, veritable”), Czech and Slovak celý (“whole”), Macedonian цел (cel, “entire, whole”), Polish cały (“entire, whole”), Russian це́лый (célyj, “entire, whole”), Serbo-Croatian це̏о, ци̏јел, ци̏о, cȅo, cȉjel, cȉo (“entire, whole”), Slovene cel (“whole”), Ukrainian ці́лий (cílyj, “entire, whole”). More at whole.
Across languages
231 source translations are retained for this English entry.
