holiness

See also: Holiness

English

Alternative forms

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).

Pronunciation

  • (General American) IPA(key): /ˈhoʊlinəs/
  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈhəʊlinəs/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Hyphenation: ho‧li‧ness

Noun

holiness (countable and uncountable, plural holinesses)

  1. The state or condition of being holy.
    • 2019, Rachel Timoner, “Book Review: Textual Activism by Rabbi Mike Moskowitz”, in Tikkun[1]:
      R. Moskowitz charges cisgender readers to be as conscious and deliberate with our religious identities as transgender and gender non-conforming people are with theirs, arguing that holiness is only achieved through continuous and unrelenting struggle and change.
    • 2022 February 14, Chuck Johnston and Steve Almasy, “A pastor baptized people for decades using one wrong word. Now those are all considered invalid”, in CNN[2]:
      “Through the Sacraments, God shares his holiness with us so that we, in turn, can make the world holier,” the conference says on its website.

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