holly

== English == === Etymology === 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”). === Pronunciation === (UK) IPA(key): /ˈhɒli/ Rhymes: -ɒli (US) IPA(key): /ˈhɑli/ === Noun === holly (countable and uncountable, plural hollies) Any of various shrubs or (mostly) small trees, of the genus Ilex, either evergreen or deciduous, used as decoration especially at Christmas. The wood from this tree. (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 ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Translations ==== == Middle English == === Etymology 1 === ==== Adjective ==== holly alternative form of holy (sacred) === Etymology 2 === ==== Adjective ==== holly alternative form of holy (porous) == Yola == === Alternative forms === holy === Etymology === From Middle English holly, from Old English hāliġ, from Proto-West Germanic *hailag. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈhɔliː/ === Adjective === holly holy ==== Derived terms ==== hollydie === References === 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