holy water

ho·ly wa·ter

H h

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
- [hoh-lee waw-ter, wot-er]
- /ˈhoʊ li ˈwɔ tər, ˈwɒt ər/
- /ˈhəʊli ˈwɔːtə(r)/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [hoh-lee waw-ter, wot-er]
- /ˈhoʊ li ˈwɔ tər, ˈwɒt ər/

Definitions of holy water words

noun holy water water blessed by a priest. 1
noun holy water water blessed by a priest 1
noun holy water water that has been blessed by a priest for use in symbolic rituals of purification 0
noun holy water water blessed by a priest and used (as in the Asperges) as a sacramental 0
noun holy water (Christianity) In certain Christian churches, water that has been sanctified by a priest or bishop for the purpose of baptism or for the blessing of persons, places, or things. 0

See all 5 definitions of holy water

Information block about the term

Origin of holy water

First appearance:

before 900

One of the 4% oldest English words

before 900; Middle English haliwater, Old English hāligwæter

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Holy water

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Holy water

holy water popularity

A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 40% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.

According to our data about 63% of words is more used. This is a rare but used term. It occurs in the pages of specialized literature and in the speech of educated people.

holy water usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer