Hallow

Short description: To make holy; sanctify; consecrate.

To hallow is "to make holy or sacred, to sanctify or consecrate, to venerate".[1] The adjective form hallowed, as used in The Lord's Prayer, means holy, consecrated, sacred, or revered.[2] The noun form hallow, as used in Hallowtide, is a synonym of the word saint.[3][4][5]

The word 'to hallow' itself in English is now archaic; does not appear other than in the quoted text in the Lord's Prayer in the New Testament (Matthew 6:9 and Luke 11:2).

## Contents

* 1 Etymology
* 2 Usage
* 3 See also
* 4 References

## Etymology

The noun is from the Old English adjective hālig, nominalised as se hālga "the holy man". The Gothic word for "holy" is either hailags or weihaba, weihs. "To hold as holy" or "to become holy" is weihnan, "to make holy, to sanctify" is weihan. Holiness or sanctification is weihiþa. Old English, like Gothic, had a second term of similar meaning, wēoh "holy", with a substantive wīh or wīg, Old High German wīh or wīhi (Middle High German wîhe, Modern German Weihe). The Nordendorf fibula has wigiþonar, interpreted as wīgi-þonar "holy Donar" or "sacred to Donar". Old Norse vé is a type of shrine. The weihs group is cognate to Latin victima, an animal dedicated to the gods and destined to be sacrificed.

## Usage

Hallow, as a noun, is a synonym of the word saint.[3][4] In modern English usage, the noun "hallow" appears mostly in the compound Hallowtide, a liturgical season which includes the days of Halloween and Hallowmas.[5] Halloween (or Hallowe'en) is a shortened form of "All Hallow Even," meaning "All Hallows' Eve" or "All Saints' Eve."[6] Hallowmas, the day after Halloween, is shortened from "Hallows' Mass," and is also known as "All Hallows' Day" or "All Saints' Day."[7]

## See also

* Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
* Hörgr
* Numen
* Numinous
* The Thirteen Hallows

## References

1. ↑ "Dictionary.com". Lexico Publishing Group, LLC.. 15 January 2007. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/hallow.
2. ↑ Webster's Collegiate Dictionary entry for hallowed
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Wilson, Douglas; Fischer, Ty (30 June 2005). Omnibus II: Church Fathers Through the Reformation. Veritas Press. p. 101. ISBN 9781932168440. "The word "hallow" means "saint," in that "hallow" is just an alternative form of the word "holy" ("hallowed be Thy name")."
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Diehl, Daniel; Donnelly, Mark (1 May 2001). Medieval Celebrations: How to Plan Holidays, Weddings, and Feasts with Recipes, Customs, Costumes, Decorations, Songs, Dances, and Games. Stackpole Books. p. 13. ISBN 9780811728669. "The word hallow was simply another word for saint."
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Leslie, Frank (1895). Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly. Frank Leslie Publishing House. p. 539. "Just as the term "Eastertide" expresses for us the whole of the church services and ancient customs attached to the festival of Easter, from Palm Sunday until Easter Monday, so does All-hallowtide include for us all the various customs, obsolete and still observed, of Halloween, All Saints' and All Souls' Days. From the 31st of October until the morning of the 3d of November, this period of three days, known as All-hallowtide, is full of traditional and legendary lore."
6. ↑ Webster's Collegiate Dictionary entry for Halloween
7. ↑ Webster's Collegiate Dictionary entry for Hallowmas

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