specially recognized as or declared sacred by religious use or authority; consecrated: holy ground.
2.
dedicated or devoted to the service of God, the church, or religion: a holy man.
3.
saintly; godly; pious; devout: a holy life.
4.
having a spiritually pure quality: a holy love.
5.
entitled to worship or veneration as or as if sacred: a holy relic.
6.
religious: holy rites.
7.
inspiring fear, awe, or grave distress: The director, when angry, is a holy terror.
–noun
8.
a place of worship; sacred place; sanctuary.
[Origin: bef. 900; ME holi, OE hālig, var. of hāleg, equiv. to hālwhole+ -eg-y1; c. D, G heilig, ON heilagr]
—Synonyms 1. blessed. Holy,sacred,consecrated,hallowed imply possession of a sanctity that is the object of religious veneration. Holy refers to the divine, that which has its sanctity directly from God or is connected with Him: Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Something that is sacred, while sometimes accepted as entitled to religious veneration, may have its sanctity from human authority: a sacred oath. Something that is consecrated is specially or formally dedicated to some religious use: a life consecrated to service. Something that is hallowed has been made holy by being worshiped: a hallowed shrine. 4. spiritual.
O.E. halig "holy," from P.Gmc. *khailagas (cf. O.N. heilagr, Ger. heilig, Goth. hailags "holy"), adopted at conversion for L. sanctus. Primary (pre-Christian) meaning is not impossible to determine, but it was probably "that must be preserved whole or intact, that cannot be transgressed or violated," and connected with O.E. hal (see health) and O.H.G. heil "health, happiness, good luck" (source of the Ger. salutation heil). Use of Holy Land for "western Palestine" dates to 1297. Holy water was in O.E. Holy smoke (1889), holy mackerel (1903), etc., all euphemisms for holy Christ. Phrase holier-than-thou in reference to supercilious sanctimony first recorded 1912 in writings of Theodore Dreiser.
Holy Cross, AK (city, FIPS 33030) Location: 62.18138 N, 159.79941 W Population (1990): 277 (93 housing units) Area: 81.0 sq km (land), 15.9 sq km (water) Zip code(s): 99602
Holy Cross, IA (city, FIPS 36885) Location: 42.60149 N, 90.99627 W Population (1990): 304 (115 housing units) Area: 0.7 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water) Zip code(s): 52053
Hal"i*but\ (?;277), n. [OE. hali holy + but, butte, flounder; akin to D. bot, G. butte; cf. D. heilbot, G. heilbutt. So named as being eaten on holidays. See Holy, Holiday.] (Zo["o]l.) A large, northern, marine flatfish (Hippoglossus vulgaris), of the family Pleuronectid[ae]. It often grows very large, weighing more than three hundred pounds. It is an important food fish. [Written also holibut.]
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Audio Help [hoh-lee] Pronunciation Key adjective, -li·er, -li·est, noun, plural -lies. 
