English Online Dictionary. What means holly? What does holly mean?
English
Etymology
From Middle English holly, holi, holie, a shortened variation of holin, holyn (> English dialectal hollen, holm), from Old English holeġn, holen (“holly; prince, protector”), from Proto-West Germanic *hulis (“holly”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *kelh₂- (“to beat, break”).
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA(key): /ˈhɒli/
- Rhymes: -ɒli
- (US) IPA(key): /ˈhɑli/
Noun
holly (countable and uncountable, plural hollies)
- Any of various shrubs or (mostly) small trees, of the genus Ilex, either evergreen or deciduous, used as decoration especially at Christmas.
- The wood from this tree.
- (with a qualifier) Any of several not closely related plant species likened to Ilex because of their prickly, evergreen foliage and/or round, bright-red berries
Derived terms
Translations
Middle English
Etymology 1
Adjective
holly
- Alternative form of holy (sacred)
Etymology 2
Adjective
holly
- Alternative form of holy (porous)
Yola
Alternative forms
- holy
Etymology
From Middle English holly, from Old English hāliġ, from Proto-West Germanic *hailag.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /hɔˈliː/
Adjective
holly
- holy
Derived terms
- hollydie
References
- Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 47