holly

From 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”).

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈhɒli/
• Rhymes: -ɒli
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈhɑli/

• Audio (US)

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holly (countable and uncountable, plural hollies)

1. Any of various shrubs or (mostly) small trees, of the genus Ilex, either evergreen or deciduous, used as decoration especially at Christmas.
   • 1940, Rosetta E. Clarkson, Green Enchantments: The Magic Spell of Gardens, The Macmillan Company, page 273:

     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 or juniper.

2. The wood from this tree.
3. (with a qualifier) Any of several not closely related plant species likened to Ilex because of their prickly, evergreen foliage and/or round, bright-red berries

holly

1. Alternative form of holy (sacred)

holly

1. Alternative form of holy (porous)

• holy

From Middle English holly, from Old English hāliġ, from Proto-West Germanic *hailag.

• IPA^(key): /hɔˈliː/

holly

1. holy
   • 1867, GLOSSARY OF THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY:

     Hollydie.

     Holiday.

• hollydie

• Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 47