holly

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English

leaves and berries of European holly (Ilex aquifolium)

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”).

cognates
Cognate with Scots holin, hollin, holyn (“holly”), Dutch hulst (“holly”), German Hulst (“holly”), French houx ("holly" < Germanic), Danish hylver (“holly”), Welsh celyn (“holly”), Russian ко́лос (kólos, “ear of wheat”), Albanian kalli (“straw, chaff”), Latin culmus (“stalk, stem”), Sanskrit कटम्ब (kaṭamba, “arrow”), Old Church Slavonic класъ (klasŭ, “ear of grain”).

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˈhɒli/
  • Rhymes: -ɒli
  • (US) IPA(key): /ˈhɑli/
  • Audio (US):(file)

Noun

holly (countable and uncountable, plural hollies)

  1. Any of various shrubs or (mostly) small trees, of the genus Ilex, either evergreen or deciduous, used as decoration especially at Christmas.
    • 1940, Rosetta E. Clarkson, Green Enchantments: The Magic Spell of Gardens, The Macmillan Company, page 273:
      Have a tree or two the witches particularly like, such as the alder, larch, cypress and hemlock; then, to counteract any possible evil effects, there must be a holly, yew, hazel, elder, mountain ash or juniper.
  2. The wood from this tree.
  3. (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

  1. Alternative form of holy (sacred)

Etymology 2

Adjective

holly

  1. Alternative form of holy (porous)

Yola

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Middle English holly, from Old English hāliġ, from Proto-West Germanic *hailag.

Pronunciation

Adjective

holly

  1. holy
    • 1867, GLOSSARY OF THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY:
      Hollydie.
      Holiday.

Derived terms

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
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