holiness
UK /ˈhəʊlinəs/ · US /ˈhoʊlinəs/ noun
Forms holinesses holinesse holyness holynesse
- noun The state or condition of being holy.
- noun (countable) Used in connection with His or Your to address the leader of some religious traditions, notably the pope. “Your Holiness”
Synonyms
Antonyms
Etymology
From Middle English holynesse, holinesse, halinesse, from Old English hāliġnes (“holiness, a holy thing, rites”), from Proto-West Germanic *hailagnassī, equivalent to holy + -ness. Cognate with West Frisian hilligens (“holiness”), Old High German heilagnissi, heilīgnissi (“holiness”), whence Middle High German heilignis (“halidom”).
Webster’s 1913
- noun The state or quality of being holy; perfect moral integrity or purity; freedom from sin; sanctity; innocence.
- noun The state of being hallowed, or consecrated to God or to his worship; sacredness.
Etymology [AS. halignes.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “holiness”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details