HOLLIES

Noun

hollies

plural of holly

Anagrams

• hilloes

Source: Wiktionary


HOLLY

Hol"ly, adv.

Definition: Wholly. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Hol"ly, n. Etym: [OE holi, holin, AS. holen, holegn; akin to D. & G. hulst, OHG. huls hulis, W. celyn, Armor. kelen, Gael. cuilionn, Ir. cuileann. Cf. 1st Holm, Hulver.]

1. (Bot.)

Definition: A tree or shrub of the genus Ilex. The European species (Ilex Aguifolium) is best known, having glossy green leaves, with a spiny, waved edge, and bearing berries that turn red or yellow about Michaelmas.

Note: The holly is much used to adorn churches and houses, at Christmas time, and hence is associated with scenes of good will and rejoicing. It is an evergreen tree, and has a finegrained, heavy, white wood. Its bark is used as a febrifuge, and the berries are violently purgative and emetic. The American holly is the Ilex opaca, and is found along the coast of the United States, from Maine southward. Gray.

2. (Bot.)

Definition: The holm oak. See 1st Holm. Holly-leaved oak (Bot.), the black scrub oak. See Scrub oak.

– Holly rose (Bot.), a West Indian shrub, with showy, yellow flowers (Turnera ulmifolia).

– Sea holly (Bot.), a species of Eryngium. See Eryngium.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

12 May 2025

UNSEASONED

(adjective) not tried or tested by experience; “unseasoned artillery volunteers”; “still untested in battle”; “an illustrator untried in mural painting”; “a young hand at plowing”


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Coffee Trivia

The word “coffee” entered the English language in 1582 via the Dutch “koffie,” borrowed from the Ottoman Turkish “kahve,” borrowed in turn from the Arabic “qahwah.” The Arabic word qahwah was traditionally held to refer to a type of wine.

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