holy

«holy» in Mova's school dictionary: connected with God or a religion, and treated with deep… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

adjective (holy, holier, holiest)

meaning for a pupil

1) Holy means special because it is connected with God or a religion, and treated with deep respect. tree →

2) Holy describes a person who is very religious and good. tree →

3) (informal) "Holy cow!" or "Holy moly!" are cries of surprise. tree →

sense in the lessons

In religious education: holy books (the Bible, the Qur'an, the Torah), holy places, holy days. In comics and everyday speech: mild exclamations of surprise. Phrases: holy book, holy water, holy place, Holy cow, Holy moly.

examples

• The Qur'an is the holy book of Islam. tree →
• Jerusalem is a holy city for many religions. tree →
• The priest sprinkled holy water. tree →
• Holy cow, that wave is huge! tree →
• The monk lived a holy life. tree →
• Many people visit holy places on pilgrimages. tree →
• "You have killed the holy woman!" tree →

note

Homophone trap: holy (religious) sounds like "wholly" (completely) and almost like "holey" (full of holes). Holiday comes from "holy day". Exclamations like "Holy cow!" are informal.

In the corpora

• The Rat whispers: «Here, in this holy place, here if anywhere, surely we shall find Him!»
• "Holy cow!" is an American cry of surprise used instead of a ruder oath.
• "Holy moly!" is a jokey cry of surprise used instead of a ruder oath.
• Christians remember the Last Supper in Holy Communion.
• Christians believe the Holy Spirit grows good character in people, like fruit on a tree.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «holy» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.