hallow

[hal-oh]

See more synonyms for hallow on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)

to make holy; sanctify; consecrate.
to honor as holy; consider sacred; venerate: to hallow a battlefield.

Origin of hallow

before 900; Middle English hal(o)wen, Old English hālgian (cognate with German heiligen, Old Norse helga), derivative of hālig holy

Related formshal·low·er, noun

hallow

[huh-loh]

interjection, noun, verb (used with or without object)

hallo.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for hallow

sanctify, bless, beatify, dedicate, praise, anoint

Examples from the Web for hallow

Contemporary Examples of hallow

The replacement of Reagan by Clinton seemed to hallow anti-government paranoia.
The Scary Rise of Anti-Government Attacks
Lee Siegel
February 19, 2010

Historical Examples of hallow

In order to hallow God's name, we must not only hear but obey His Word.
An Explanation of Luther's Small Catechism
Joseph Stump
She evidently has no classical associations to hallow her memory withal.'
Jack Hinton
Charles James Lever
Who will say of the verb to hallow that it is now even obsolescent?
English Past and Present
Richard Chevenix Trench
As my wife I woo thee, and by every tie, and by every vow that can hallow and endear affection.
Zanoni
Edward Bulwer Lytton
I must go,—I must do what I may to hallow my poor sister's grave.
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 17, No. 103, May, 1866
Various

British Dictionary definitions for hallow

hallow

verb (tr)

to consecrate or set apart as being holy
to venerate as being holy

Derived Formshallower, noun

Word Origin for hallow

Old English hālgian, from hālig holy

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 hallow

Old English halgian "to make holy, to honor as holy, consecrate, ordain," related to halig "holy," from Proto-Germanic *hailaga- (cf. Old Saxon helagon, Middle Dutch heligen, Old Norse helga), from PIE root *kailo- "whole, uninjured, of good omen" (see health). Used in Christian translations to render Latin sanctificare. Also used since Old English as a noun meaning "holy person, saint." Related: Hallowed; hallowing.