To hallow is "to make holy or sacred, to sanctify or consecrate, to venerate". The adjective form ''hallowed'', as used in ''

The Lord's Prayer The Lord's Prayer, also called the Our Father or Pater Noster, is a central Christian prayer which Jesus taught as the way to pray. Two versions of this prayer are recorded in the gospels: a longer form within the Sermon on the Mount in the Gosp ...

'', means holy, consecrated, sacred, or revered. The noun form ''hallow'', as used in '' Hallowtide'', is a synonym of the word

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

. The word 'to hallow' itself in English is now archaic; does not appear other than in the quoted text in the

Lord's Prayer The Lord's Prayer, also called the Our Father or Pater Noster, is a central Christian prayer which Jesus taught as the way to pray. Two versions of this prayer are recorded in the gospels: a longer form within the Sermon on the Mount in the Gosp ...

in the New Testament ( and ).

Etymology

The noun is from the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

adjective ''hālig'', nominalised as ''se hālga'' "the holy man". The

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

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 The Nordendorf fibulae are two mid 6th to early 7th century Alamannic fibulae found in Nordendorf near Augsburg, Bavaria, Germany. Both fibulae are from the same grave, a woman's grave from an Alemannic cemetery of 448 row graves. They are label ...

has ''wigiþonar'', interpreted as ''wīgi-þonar'' "holy

Donar Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred groves ...

" 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 Sacrifice is the offering of material possessions or the lives of animals or humans to a deity as an act of propitiation or worship. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Greeks, and possibly exis ...

Usage

Hallow, as a noun, is a synonym of the word

. In modern English usage, the noun "hallow" appears mostly in the compound Hallowtide, a liturgical season which includes the days of

Halloween Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observanc ...

and Hallowmas. Halloween (or ''Hallowe'en'') is a shortened form of "All Hallow Even," meaning "All Hallows' Eve" or "All Saints' Eve." Hallowmas, the day after Halloween, is shortened from "Hallows' Mass," and is also known as " All Hallows' Day" or " All Saints' Day."''Webster's Collegiate Dictionary'' entry for ''Hallowmas'' a

References

{{reflist Holiness

Etymology

Usage

See also

References