holey

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English

Etymology

From Middle English holy, holi, holly, holli (holey, spongy, hollow); equivalent to hole +‎ -y. The e was inserted in Modern English to distinguish the word from holy (hallowed, sacred).

Pronunciation

  • (UK, wholly-holy split) IPA(key): /ˈhəʊl.li/, ,
  • (UK, without wholly-holy split) IPA(key): /ˈhəʊli/
  • (US) IPA(key): /ˈhoʊli/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -əʊli
  • Homophones: wholly, holy (in accents without the wholly-holy split)

Adjective

holey (comparative holier, superlative holiest)

  1. Having, or being full of, holes.
    Fred loved holey Dutch cheese.
    • 2014, Zandria F. Robinson, chapter 3, in This Ain't Chicago: Race, Class, and Regional Identity in the Post-Soul South, University of North Carolina Press, →ISBN, page 111:
      Steven also acknowledged that his presentation of self—wild locs, nerd glasses, and holey hipster jeans for our first interview—encourages whites to speak to him.

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