hallowed
adjective
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Hallowed Has Old English Roots
The adjective hallowed, meaning "holy" or "revered," isn’t especially spooky, but its history is entwined with that of a certain spooky season. Hallowed is the past participle of the verb hallow, a term that descends from the Middle English word halowen. That word can be traced back to the Old English adjective hālig, meaning "holy." During the Middle Ages, All Hallows' Day was the name for what Christians now call All Saints' Day (hallow was once used also as a noun referring to a saint), and the evening that preceded All Hallows' Day was All Hallows' Eve or All Hallow Even—or, as we know it today, Halloween. (Although pumpkins are often hollowed out on Halloween, hollow has a different Old English root.)
Examples of hallowed in a Sentence
Devon O’Neil, Outside Online, 27 Feb. 2025
On hallowed ground in Maplewood, N.J., a small group of impassioned athletes braved the January cold to fling a disc.
—David Waldstein, New York Times, 15 Feb. 2025
If a live performance can be deemed hallowed ground, then Selena Quintanilla at the Houston Astrodome in February 1995, a month before her untimely death, certainly qualifies.
—Carlos Aguilar, Variety, 27 Jan. 2025
Harris popped the question to Starr onstage at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium, the onetime home of the Opry, during the first of Starr’s two-night stand at the hallowed theater.
—Joseph Hudak, Rolling Stone, 15 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hallowed
Cite this Entry
“Hallowed.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hallowed. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.
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