HOLIES
Noun
holies
plural of holy. Used almost exclusively in Holy of Holies.
Anagrams
• Helios, helios, isohel
Source: Wiktionary
HOLY
Ho"ly, a. [Compar. Holier; superl. Holiest.] Etym: [OE. holi, hali,
AS.halig, fr. hæl health, salvation, happiness, fr. hal whole, well;
akin to OS. h, 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.
– Holy water (Gr. & R. C. Churches), water which has been blessed
by the priest for sacred purposes.
– Holy-water stoup, the stone stoup or font placed near the
entrance of a church, as a receptacle for holy water.
– Holy Week (Eccl.), the week before Easter, in which the passion
of our Savior is commemorated.
– Holy writ, the sacred Scriptures. " Word of holy writ."
Wordsworth.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition