Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

hallelujah

or hal·le·lu·iah

[hal-uh-loo-yuh]
interjection
  1. Praise ye the Lord!
Show More
noun
  1. an exclamation of “hallelujah!”
  2. a shout of joy, praise, or gratitude.
  3. a musical composition wholly or principally based upon the word “hallelujah.”
Show More

Origin of hallelujah

1525–35; < Hebrew halălūyāh praise ye Yahweh; cf. alleluia
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for halleluiah

Historical Examples of halleluiah

  • Truly, as we think of all this, we cannot but own that every breath should be a halleluiah.

    Notes on the Book of Deuteronomy, Volume I

    Charles Henry Mackintosh

  • I seen de fulfilment o' promise, an' my heart was bustin' full, but I ain't got no halleluiah tongue like you.

    The River's Children

    Ruth McEnery Stuart

  • He snatched it—gloated over it; doubted it—bit it—found it genuine—choked his heart down, and smothered a halleluiah.

    Roughing It

    Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)

British Dictionary definitions for halleluiah

hallelujah

halleluiah alleluia (ˌælɪˈluːjə)

interjection
  1. an exclamation of praise to God
  2. an expression of relief or a similar emotion
Show More
noun
  1. an exclamation of "Hallelujah"
  2. a musical composition that uses the word Hallelujah as its text
Show More

Word Origin for hallelujah

C16: from Hebrew hallelūyāh praise the Lord, from hellēl to praise + yāh the Lord, Yahweh
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for halleluiah

hallelujah

also halleluiah, 1530s, from Hebrew hallalu-yah "praise ye Jehovah," from hallalu, plural imperative of hallel "to praise" also "song of praise," from hillel "he praised," of imitative origin, with primary sense being "to trill." Second element is yah, shortened form of Yahweh, name of God. Replaced variant formation alleluia (12c.).

Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper