hallow

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(hăl'ō) pronunciation
tr.v., -lowed, -low·ing, -lows.
  1. To make or set apart as holy.
  2. To respect or honor greatly; revere.

[Middle English halwen, from Old English hālgian.]


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verb

  1. To give over by or as if by vow to a higher purpose: consecrate, dedicate, devote. See give/take/reciprocity.
  2. To make sacred by a religious rite: bless, consecrate, sanctify. See religion.

Worcestershire Halhagan 9th cent., Halhegan (1086) (DB). ‘Enclosures in a nook or corner of land’. OE halh + haga.

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pronunciation

IN BRIEF: v. - Render holy by means of religious rites.

Tutor's tip: Note: To "hallow" is to make holy. A "halo" is a circle of light around a religious figure. Something with a hole or void inside is "hollow".

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Random House Word Menu by Stephen Glazier
For a list of words related to hallow, see:

  See crossword solutions for the clue Hallow.

To hallow is "to make holy or sacred, to sanctify or consecrate, to venerate".[1] The adjective form hallowed, as used in The Lord's Prayer, means holy, consecrated, sacred, or revered.[2]

Contents

Etymology

The noun is from the Old English adjective hálig, nominalized as se hálga "the holy man". The Gothic word for "holy" is either hailags or weihaba, weihs. "To hold as holy" or "to become holy" is weihnan, "to make holy, to sanctify" is weihan. Holiness or sanctification is weihia. Old English like Gothic had a second term of similar meaning, weoh "holy", with a substantive wih or wig, Old High German wih or wihi (Middle High German wîhe, Modern German Weihe). The Nordendorf fibula has wigiþonar, interpreted as wigi-þonar "holy Donar" or "sacred to Donar". Old Norse is a type of shrine. The weihs group is cognate to Latin victima, an animal dedicated to the gods and destined to be sacrificed.

In current usage

In modern English usage, the "hallow" appears mostly in compounds in Halloween and Hallowmas. Halloween (or Hallowe'en) is a shortened form of "All Hallow Even", meaning "All Hallow's Eve" coopted to be "All Saints' Eve".[3] Hallowmas, the day after Halloween, is shortened from "Hallow's mass", and is also known as "All Hallow's Day" or "All Saints' Day".[4]

Hallows can, but did not originally, refer to saints, the relics (including remains) of the saints, the relics of gods, or shrines in which relics are kept.[5][6] Since the essence of these saints or gods were often considered present at their shrines and in their relics, hallows came to refer to the saints or gods themselves, rather than just their relics or shrines.

Samhain predated Christianity; All Hallow's Eve was the alternative celebration. Like celebrating Christmas in December when Jesus was more than likely born in April to co-opt Saturnalia and all the Mythraic holidays.

In literature

In music

See Also

References

  1. ^ "Dictionary.com". Lexico Publishing Group, LLC.. 2007-01-15. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/hallow. Retrieved 2007-01-23. 
  2. ^ Webster's Collegiate Dictionary entry for hallowed
  3. ^ Webster's Collegiate Dictionary entry for Halloween
  4. ^ Webster's Collegiate Dictionary entry for Hallowmas
  5. ^ "The Fisher King". University of Idaho. April 1999. http://www.uidaho.edu/student_orgs/arthurian_legend/grail/fisher/. Retrieved 2007-01-23. 
  6. ^ Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. 

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Dansk (Danish)
v. tr. - hellige, indvi, helligholde
n. - halloo

Nederlands (Dutch)
heiligen, vereren, aanbidden

Français (French)
v. tr. - sanctifier (littér), consacrer
n. - sanctification

Deutsch (German)
v. - heiligen, heilig sprechen
n. - Hallo

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - (καθ)αγιάζω

Italiano (Italian)
santificare

Português (Portuguese)
v. - santificar, consagrar

Русский (Russian)
святой, освящать, свято чтить, кричать вслед

Español (Spanish)
v. tr. - santificar
n. - saludar

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - hojta, uppmuntra (med rop)

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
使...神圣, 视为神圣, 圣徒

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
v. tr. - 使...神聖, 視為神聖
n. - 聖徒

한국어 (Korean)
v. tr. - 신성하게 하다, 신에게 바치다, 신성한 것으로 숭상하다
n. - 성인

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - 神聖なものとする, 清める, 神に捧げる

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) يجوف, يتحوف‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. tr. - ‮קידש, עשה לקדוש, העריץ‬
n. - ‮אדם קדוש (מיושן)‬


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