holy
- 01 B1 Intermediate
connected to a god or a religion and deserving great respect.
dedicated to a religious purpose or deity; regarded with deep veneration within a faith tradition.
Simple“The Ganges is considered a holy river by millions of people.”
In context“The pilgrims traveled for weeks to reach the holy site, hoping to find spiritual peace within its ancient walls.”
- 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
living a life that is morally perfect and without sin.
characterized by moral perfection or spiritual purity.
Simple“She was remembered as a holy woman who spent her life helping the poor.”
In context“The biography depicts the monk not just as a scholar, but as a truly holy man whose kindness influenced the entire community.”
“He is understood to have been leading 11 Britons on a tour that was due to visit Kailash and Lake Mansarovar, two Hindu holy sites in Tibet.”
Inherited from Middle English holi, hali, from Old English hāliġ, hāleġ (“holy, consecrated, sacred, venerated, godly, saintly, ecclesiastical, pacific, tame”), from Proto-West Germanic hailag, from Proto-Germanic hailagaz (“holy, bringing health”), from Proto-Germanic hailaz (“healthy, whole”), from Proto-Indo-European kéh₂ilos (“healthy, whole”), equivalent to whole + -y and a doublet of later wholly. Cognate with Scots haly (“holy”), West Frisian hillich (“holy”), Low German hillig (“holy”), Dutch heilig (“holy”), German heilig (“holy”), Danish hellig (“holy”), Swedish helig (“holy”). More at whole.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.