Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • transitive verb To make or set apart as holy.
  • transitive verb To respect or honor greatly; revere.
  • noun A holy person or saint.
  • noun A sacred or magical object.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To mark or set apart as holy; consecrate to holy or religious use; keep sacred; regard or treat as holy; reverence; adore; hold in solemn honor.
  • Synonyms Dedicate, Consecrate, etc. See devote.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To make holy; to set apart for holy or religious use; to consecrate; to treat or keep as sacred; to reverence.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb transitive To make holy, to sanctify.
  • noun archaic or dialectal A saint; a holy person; an apostle.
  • verb To shout, especially to urge on dogs for hunting.
  • noun A shout, cry; a hulloo.
  • adjective Alternative spelling of hollow.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb render holy by means of religious rites

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English halwen, from Old English hālgian; see kailo- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English halwen ("to hallow, sanctify"), from Old English hālgian ("to hallow, sanctify, make holy"), from Proto-Germanic *hailagōnan (“to make holy”), from *hailagaz (“holy”), from Proto-Germanic *hailaz (“whole, safe, hale”), from Proto-Indo-European *koil- (“safe, unharmed”). Cognate with Dutch heiligen ("to hallow"), German heiligen ("to bless"). More at holy.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English halowen, from halow (interjection), from Old English ēalā ("O!, alas!, oh!, lo!", interjection), probably conflated with Old French halloer.

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Examples

  • A hallow is the royal regalia carried by the King, or the objects sought by someone such as a 'Grail Quester' In other words: horcruxes.

    New Harry Potter Title! 2006

  • Strengthen the bonds of friendship among the inhabitants of all lands, and may the love of Your name hallow every home and every heart.

    News & Record Article Feed 2009

  • In Scripture, the word hallow is a synonym for the word sanctify.

    Latest Articles 2009

  • As Christianity worked its way through Europe the day came to be known as All Hallows Eve, and that which was hallow, meaning holy or to be revered, was honored.

    Honoring the Dead: All Hallows « Colleen Anderson 2009

  • We have a new civic architecture that is either a kind of hallow facade, or whose expansion provides a backdoor way to demand new funding for government services.

    Mayor McGinn Talks Budget Cuts, Parks « PubliCola 2010

  • The root word of Halloween is "hallow," which means "holy, consecrated and set apart for service."

    feminist blogs in english » 2009 » October 2009

  • The word Halloween, as you may well recall, is derived from two words: "hallow," meaning "to bless" -- and nothing says blessing like a gooey green spook -- and "een," the noise your mouth makes when you're prying the caramel out of your molars.

    Patricia Draznin: B00! SCARY is in the Dangling Eye of the Beholder 2008

  • Tabernacle; and first, the holy place, which the priests daily entered and which is called in verse 16 'the tent of meeting,' and next, the altar of burnt offering in the outer court, are in like manner sprinkled seven times with the blood, to 'hallow' them 'from the uncleanness of the children of Israel' (verse 19).

    Expositions of Holy Scripture Alexander Maclaren 1868

  • Christ in our hearts, then our hearts are temples; and if we 'hallow' the Christ that dwells within us, we shall take care that there are no foul things in that sanctuary.

    Expositions of Holy Scripture Ephesians; Epistles of St. Peter and St. John Alexander Maclaren 1868

  • Our evenings were such as hallow and make the luxury of cottage life -- evenings yielded up to cheerfulness, to content and harmony.

    Confession, or, the Blind Heart; a Domestic Story William Gilmore Simms 1838

Comments

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  • Here is your new (old) shouting-at-dogs word.

    December 21, 2018