/ˈhɒli/, /ˈhɑli/
OriginFrom Middle English holly, holi, holie, a shortened variation of holin, holyn (> English dialectal hollen, holm), from Old English holeġn, holen (“holly; prince, protector”), from Proto-West Germanic *hulis (“holly”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *kelh₂- (“to beat, break”).
Cognates
Cognate with Scots holin, hollin, holyn (“holly”), Dutch hulst (“holly”), German Hulst (“holly”), French houx ("holly" < Germanic), Danish hylver (“holly”), Welsh celyn (“holly”), Russian ко́лос (kólos, “ear of wheat”), Albanian kalli (“straw, chaff”), Latin culmus (“stalk, stem”), Sanskrit कटम्ब (kaṭamba, “arrow”), Old Church Slavonic класъ (klasŭ, “ear of grain”).
- countable, uncountableAny of various shrubs or (mostly) small trees, of the genus Ilex, either evergreen or deciduous, used as decoration especially at Christmas.
“Have a tree or two the witches particularly like, such as the alder, larch, cypress and hemlock; then, to counteract any possible evil effects, there must be a holly, yew, hazel, elder, mountain ash o”
- countable, uncountableThe wood from this tree.
- countable, uncountableAny of several not closely related plant species likened to Ilex because of their prickly, evergreen foliage and/or round, bright-red berries
- A female given name from English.
“Grandma said, "I used to know a little girl called Holly - she always had her dresses trimmed with red or green." Milly-Molly-Mandy thought that was quite a nice name.”
“"Holly, would you mind if I named my little girl 'Holly'? I mean, it's right around Christmas time, and I always think of holly with Christmas.”
“The bodies of 19-year-old best friends Holly Bowles and Bianca Jones were returned to Australia on Tuesday night.”
- A topographic surname from Middle English.
- rareA male given name transferred from the surname.
- A town in Prowers County, Colorado, named after cattleman Hiram S. Holly.
- A township and village therein, in Oakland County, Michigan.
- A township in Murray County, Minnesota, named after settler John Z. Holly.
- An unincorporated community in Houston County, Texas.
- An unincorporated community in Kitsap County, Washington, named for a large holly tree.
- An unincorporated community in Kanawha County, West Virginia.
Formshollies(plural) · Hollie(alternative) · Hollee(alternative) · Holli(alternative) · Hollye(alternative) · Holley(alternative)