holy : Idioms & Phrases


christian holy day

  • noun a religious holiday for Christians
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high holy day

  • noun Jewish holy days observed with particular solemnity
    High Holiday.
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holier-than-thou

  • adjective satellite excessively or hypocritically pious
    pharisaic; self-righteous; sanctimonious; pietistic; pharisaical; pietistical.
    • a sickening sanctimonious smile
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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.
Webster 1913

Holy bark

  • . See Cascara sagrada.
Webster 1913

holy city

  • noun phrases used to refer to Heaven
    Celestial City; Heavenly City; City of God.
    • the Celestial City was Christian's goal in Bunyan's `Pilgrim's Progress'
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holy clover

  • noun Eurasian perennial herb having pale pink flowers and curved pods; naturalized in Britain and North America grasslands on calcareous soils; important forage crop and source of honey in Britain
    sainfoin; esparcet; Onobrychis viciaefolia; sanfoin; Onobrychis viciifolia.
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Holy Communion

  • noun the act of participating in the celebration of the Eucharist
    manduction; Communion; sacramental manduction.
    • the governor took Communion with the rest of the congregation
WordNet
  • . See Eucharist.
Webster 1913

holy cross

Ho"ly cross"
Definitions
  1. The cross as the symbol of Christ's crucifixion.
Webster 1913

holy day

  • noun a day specified for religious observance
    religious holiday.
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holy day of obligation

  • noun a day when Catholics must attend Mass and refrain from servile work, and Episcopalians must take Communion
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holy eucharist

  • noun a Christian sacrament commemorating the Last Supper by consecrating bread and wine
    Lord's Supper; Eucharist; Eucharistic liturgy; Liturgy; sacrament of the Eucharist; Holy Eucharist.
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Holy family

  • (Art), a picture in which the infant Christ, his parents, and others of his family are represented.
Webster 1913

Holy Father

  • noun the head of the Roman Catholic Church
    Roman Catholic Pope; pontiff; pope; Catholic Pope; Vicar of Christ; Bishop of Rome.
WordNet
  • a title of the pope.
Webster 1913

Holy Ghost

  • noun the third person in the Trinity; Jesus promised the Apostles that he would send the Holy Spirit after his Crucifixion and Resurrection; it came on Pentecost
    Holy Ghost; Paraclete.
WordNet
  • (Theol.), the third person of the Trinity; the Comforter; the Paraclete.
Webster 1913

Holy Grail

  • noun (legend) chalice used by Christ at the Last Supper
    grail; Sangraal.
WordNet
  • . See Grail.
Webster 1913

Holy grass

  • (Bot.), a sweet-scented grass (Hierochloa borealis and H. 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, ∨ Seneca, grass.
Webster 1913

Holy Innocents' day

  • noun December 28, commemorating Herod's slaughter of the children of Bethlehem
    Innocents' Day.
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  • Childermas day.
Webster 1913

holy joe

  • noun a chaplain in one of the military services
    military chaplain; padre; sky pilot.
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Holy Land

  • noun an ancient country in southwestern Asia on the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea; a place of pilgrimage for Christianity and Islam and Judaism
    Palestine; Canaan; Promised Land.
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  • Palestine, the birthplace of Christianity.
Webster 1913

holy man

  • noun person of exceptional holiness
    angel; saint; holy man.
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Holy of holies

  • noun (figurative) something regarded as sacred or inviolable
    • every politician fears to touch that holy of holies, the Social Security System
  • noun (Judaism) sanctuary comprised of the innermost chamber of the Tabernacle in the temple of Solomon where the Ark of the Covenant was kept
    sanctum sanctorum.
WordNet
  • (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.
Webster 1913

Holy office

  • the Inquisition.
Webster 1913

holy oil

  • noun a consecrated ointment consisting of a mixture of oil and balsam
    sacramental oil; chrisom; chrism.
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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.
Webster 1913

holy order

  • noun (usually plural) the status or rank or office of a Christian clergyman in an ecclesiastical hierarchy
    Holy Order; Order.
    • theologians still disagree over whether `bishop' should or should not be a separate Order
  • noun the sacrament of ordination
    holy order.
WordNet

Holy orders

  • noun (usually plural) the status or rank or office of a Christian clergyman in an ecclesiastical hierarchy
    Holy Order; Order.
    • theologians still disagree over whether `bishop' should or should not be a separate Order
  • noun the sacrament of ordination
    holy order.
WordNet
  • . See Order.
Webster 1913

holy person

  • noun person of exceptional holiness
    angel; saint; holy man.
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holy place

  • noun a sacred place of pilgrimage
    sanctum; holy.
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holy roller

  • noun a member of a religion that expresses ecstatic fervor
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holy roman emperor

  • noun sovereign of the Holy Roman Empire
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holy roman emperor frederick ii

  • noun the Holy Roman Emperor who led the Sixth Crusade and crowned himself king of Jerusalem (1194-1250)
    Frederick II.
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holy roman empire

  • noun a political entity in Europe that began with the papal coronation of Otto I as the first emperor in 962 and lasted until 1806 when it was dissolved by Napoleon
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Holy rood

  • the cross or crucifix, particularly one placed, in churches. over the entrance to the chancel.
Webster 1913

Holy rope

  • a plant, the hemp agrimony.
Webster 1913

holy sacrament

  • noun a Christian sacrament commemorating the Last Supper by consecrating bread and wine
    Lord's Supper; Eucharist; Eucharistic liturgy; Liturgy; sacrament of the Eucharist; Holy Eucharist.
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Holy Saturday

  • noun the Saturday before Easter; the last day of Lent
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  • (Eccl.), the Saturday immediately preceding the festival of Easter; the vigil of Easter.
Webster 1913

holy scripture

  • noun the sacred writings of the Christian religions
    Christian Bible; Bible; Word; Word of God; Holy Scripture; Book; Good Book; Scripture.
    • he went to carry the Word to the heathen
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holy see

  • noun the smallest sovereign state in the world; the see of the Pope (as the Bishop of Rome); home of the Pope and the central administration of the Roman Catholic Church; achieved independence from Italy in 1929
    Holy See; State of the Vatican City.
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holy sepulcher

  • noun the sepulcher in which Christ's body lay between burial and resurrection
    Holy Sepulcher.
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holy sepulchre

  • noun the sepulcher in which Christ's body lay between burial and resurrection
    Holy Sepulcher.
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Holy Spirit

  • noun the third person in the Trinity; Jesus promised the Apostles that he would send the Holy Spirit after his Crucifixion and Resurrection; it came on Pentecost
    Holy Ghost; Paraclete.
WordNet
  • same as Holy Ghost (above).
Webster 1913

Holy Spirit plant

  • . See Dove plant.
Webster 1913

holy terror

  • noun a very troublesome child
    terror; little terror; brat.
WordNet

Holy thistle

  • noun tall Old World biennial thistle with large clasping white-blotched leaves and purple flower heads; naturalized in California and South America
    Silybum marianum; milk thistle; lady's thistle; Our Lady's mild thistle; blessed thistle.
WordNet
  • (Bot.), the blessed thistle. See under Thistle.
Webster 1913

Holy Thursday

  • noun the Thursday before Easter; commemorates the Last Supper
    Maundy Thursday.
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  • . (Eccl.) (a) (Episcopal Ch.) Ascension day. (b) (R. C. Ch.) The Thursday in Holy Week; Maundy Thursday.
Webster 1913

holy trinity

  • noun the union of the Father and Son and Holy Ghost in one Godhead
    Sacred Trinity; Trinity; Blessed Trinity.
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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.
Webster 1913

holy war warriors

  • noun a paramilitary terrorist organization of militant Muslims in Indonesia; wages a jihad against Christians in Indonesia; subscribes to the Wahhabi creed of Islam
    Laskar Jihad.
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Holy water

  • noun water that has been blessed by a priest for use in symbolic purification
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  • (Gr. & R. C. Churches), water which has been blessed by the priest for sacred purposes.
Webster 1913

Holy Week

  • noun the week before Easter
    Passion Week.
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  • (Eccl.), the week before Easter, in which the passion of our Savior is commemorated.
Webster 1913

Holy writ

  • noun the sacred writings of the Christian religions
    Christian Bible; Bible; Word; Word of God; Holy Scripture; Book; Good Book; Scripture.
    • he went to carry the Word to the heathen
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  • the sacred Scriptures. " Word of holy writ." Wordsworth.
Webster 1913

holy year

  • noun (Roman Catholic Church) a period of remission from sin (usually granted every 25 years)
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Holy-water stoup

  • the stone stoup or font placed near the entrance of a church, as a receptacle for holy water.
Webster 1913

jewish holy day

  • noun a religious holiday for Jews
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movement of holy warriors

  • noun an Islamic fundamentalist group in Pakistan that fought the Soviet Union in Afghanistan in the 1980s; now operates as a terrorist organization primarily in Kashmir and seeks Kashmir's accession by Pakistan
    Al Faran; Harkat ul-Mujahedeen; HUA; HUM; Harkat-ul-Mujahidin; Harkat ul-Ansar.
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the holy see

  • noun the smallest sovereign state in the world; the see of the Pope (as the Bishop of Rome); home of the Pope and the central administration of the Roman Catholic Church; achieved independence from Italy in 1929
    Holy See; State of the Vatican City.
WordNet