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
Josh Max, Forbes.com, 18 Apr. 2025
Our 2005 Week starts here with a discussion of 50 Cent’s game-running 2005 — possibly an even higher commercial and cultural peak than his hallowed 2003 run, but also the clear beginning of the end for his superstardom.
—Andrew Unterberger, Billboard, 17 Apr. 2025
McIlroy ended an 11-year majors drought and captured a hallowed career grand slam yesterday.
—Chris Branch, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2025
What a wonderful journey awaits any San Diegan who wants to design a garden to beautify the campus of a church, synagogue or mosque, tying their faith to modern plants that echo a hallowed past.
—The San Diego Union Tribune, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Apr. 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 25 Apr. 2025.
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