Holy of holies

Holy of holies
Holy Ho"ly, a. [Compar. {Holier}; superl. {Holiest}.] [OE. holi, hali, AS. h[=a]lig, fr. h[ae]l health, salvation, happiness, fr. h[=a]l whole, well; akin to OS. h?lag, D. & G. heilig, OHG. heilac, Dan. hellig, Sw. helig, Icel. heilagr. See {Whole}, and cf. {Halibut}, {Halidom}, {Hallow}, {Hollyhock}.] 1. Set apart to the service or worship of God; hallowed; sacred; reserved from profane or common use; holy vessels; a holy priesthood. ``Holy rites and solemn feasts.'' --Milton. [1913 Webster]

2. Spiritually whole or sound; of unimpaired innocence and virtue; free from sinful affections; pure in heart; godly; pious; irreproachable; guiltless; acceptable to God. [1913 Webster]

Now through her round of holy thought The Church our annual steps has brought. --Keble. [1913 Webster]

{Holy Alliance} (Hist.), a league ostensibly for conserving religion, justice, and peace in Europe, but really for repressing popular tendencies toward constitutional government, entered into by Alexander I. of Russia, Francis I. of Austria, and Frederic William III. of Prussia, at Paris, on the 26th of September, 1815, and subsequently joined by all the sovereigns of Europe, except the pope and the king of England.

{Holy bark}. See {Cascara sagrada}.

{Holy Communion}. See {Eucharist}.

{Holy family} (Art), a picture in which the infant Christ, his parents, and others of his family are represented.

{Holy Father}, a title of the pope.

{Holy Ghost} (Theol.), the third person of the Trinity; the Comforter; the Paraclete.

{Holy Grail}. See {Grail}.

{Holy grass} (Bot.), a sweet-scented grass ({Hierochloa borealis} and {Hierochloa alpina}). In the north of Europe it was formerly strewed before church doors on saints' days; whence the name. It is common in the northern and western parts of the United States. Called also {vanilla grass} or {Seneca grass}.

{Holy Innocents' day}, Childermas day.

{Holy Land}, Palestine, the birthplace of Christianity.

{Holy office}, the Inquisition.

{Holy of holies} (Script.), the innermost apartment of the Jewish tabernacle or temple, where the ark was kept, and where no person entered, except the high priest once a year.

{Holy One}. (a) The Supreme Being; -- so called by way of emphasis. `` The Holy One of Israel.'' --Is. xliii. 14. (b) One separated to the service of God.

{Holy orders}. See {Order}.

{Holy rood}, the cross or crucifix, particularly one placed, in churches. over the entrance to the chancel.

{Holy rope}, a plant, the hemp agrimony.

{Holy Saturday} (Eccl.), the Saturday immediately preceding the festival of Easter; the vigil of Easter.

{Holy Spirit}, same as {Holy Ghost} (above).

{Holy Spirit plant}. See {Dove plant}.

{Holy thistle} (Bot.), the blessed thistle. See under {Thistle}.

{Holy Thursday}. (Eccl.) (a) (Episcopal Ch.) Ascension day. (b) (R. C. Ch.) The Thursday in Holy Week; Maundy Thursday.

{Holy war}, a crusade; an expedition carried on by Christians against the Saracens in the Holy Land, in the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth centuries, for the possession of the holy places.

{Holy water} (Gr. & R. C. Churches), water which has been blessed by the priest for sacred purposes.

{Holy-water stoup}, the stone stoup or font placed near the entrance of a church, as a receptacle for holy water.

{Holy Week} (Eccl.), the week before Easter, in which the passion of our Savior is commemorated.

{Holy writ}, the sacred Scriptures. `` Word of holy writ.'' --Wordsworth. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • holy of holies — n [singular] 1.) humorous a special place where only a few people are allowed to go 2.) the Holy of Holies the most holy part of a Jewish temple …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • holy of holies — ► NOUN 1) historical the inner chamber of the sanctuary in the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. 2) a place regarded as most sacred or special …   English terms dictionary

  • holy of holies — n. [transl. of Heb qōdesh haqadōshim] 1. the innermost part of the Jewish tabernacle and Temple, where the ark of the covenant was kept 2. any most sacred place …   English World dictionary

  • Holy of Holies — The Holy of Holies is a term in the Hebrew Bible which referred to the inner sanctuary of the Tabernacle and later the Temple in Jerusalem which could be entered only by the High Priest on Yom Kippur. Contemporary Judaism and certain branches of… …   Wikipedia

  • holy of holies — 1. a place of special sacredness. 2. the innermost chamber of the Biblical tabernacle and the Temple in Jerusalem, in which the ark of the covenant was kept. 3. Eastern Ch. the bema. [1350 1400; ME, trans. of LL sanctum sanctorum (Vulgate), trans …   Universalium

  • holy of holies — [[t]ho͟ʊli əv ho͟ʊliz[/t]] N SING A holy of holies is a place that is so sacred that only particular people are allowed to enter; often used in informal English to refer humorously to a place where only a few special people can go. ...the holy of …   English dictionary

  • Holy of Holies — noun a) The most sacred place within a sacred building. The holy of holies, a cubical space of ten cubits on the side, was separated from the larger antechamber by four columns, which were also covered with gold and stood upon silver sockets;… …   Wiktionary

  • holy of holies —    1. the vagina    The kind of tasteless pun which a libertine like Frank Harris would relish:     I want to see the Holy of Holies, the shrine of my idolatry. (F. Harris, 1925)    2. a lavatory    Again a tasteless double pun on what should be… …   How not to say what you mean: A dictionary of euphemisms

  • holy of holies — noun 1. (sometimes upper case) the inner and smaller chamber of the Jewish tabernacle and temple entered only by the high priest and but once a year. 2. a place of special sacredness. 3. (often ironic) a cherished place: *here in the sweet… …  

  • holy of holies —    This term refers to the innermost part of the Temple in Jerusalem, which was the repository for the Ark of the Covenant; only the high priest was permitted to enter the holy of holies and then only once a year …   Glossary of theological terms

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