Etymograph

English

hooly

Hooly comes from Old English hāliġ ‘holy, sacred’, from Proto-Germanic *hailaz ‘hale, healthy’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kéh₂ilos.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kéh₂ilos1‘healthy, whole’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hailaz2‘hale, healthy’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hailagaz3‘holy, sacred’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hailag3‘holy, sacred’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150hāliġ4‘holy, sacred’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500holi4
  7. Englishtodayhooly4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *hailaz
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *hailagaz
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Old English halig
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English hooly

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kéh₂ilosWiktionary, Proto-Germanic *hailaz‘healthy, whole’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hailazWiktionary, Proto-Germanic *hailagaz‘hale, healthy’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hailagazWiktionary, Old English halig‘holy, sacred’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hailagWiktionary, Old English halig‘holy, sacred’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150hāliġWiktionary, English hooly‘holy, sacred’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500holiWiktionary, English hooly
  7. EnglishtodayhoolyWiktionary, English hooly

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *kéh₂ilos ‘healthy, whole’

heal, 1 more

through Proto-Germanic *hailaz ‘hale, healthy’

health, whole, healing, hail, hale, hallowed, heil, 2 more

through Proto-Germanic *hailagaz ‘holy, sacred’

hallow, 1 more

through Proto-West Germanic *hailag ‘holy, sacred’

holy

Today it means

adj Holy.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “hooly”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Germanic *hailaz, Proto-Germanic *hailagaz, Old English halig. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *kéh₂ilos / hooly

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