hooley

See also: Hooley

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

Unknown. In the second sense, it may be an alteration of Orkney Scots hoolan, "strong gale" (of Norse origin).[1]

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˈhuːli/
  • Rhymes: -uːli

Noun

hooley (plural hooleys)

  1. (Ireland) A party or celebration; an evening of traditional music and dance.
    • 2002, Joseph O'Connor, Star of the Sea, Vintage, published 2003, page 88:
      At a family gathering, a wake or a Christmas hooley, other children would step forward to sing a rhyme or dance a hornpipe.
    • 2023, Richard Flanagan, Question 7, Knopf, page 183:
      She had always loved what she called a hooley, a gathering of family and friends, and her dying was to be her last, greatest hooley.
  2. (Scotland) A strong wind or gale.
    It's blowing a hooley out there.
    • 2004 May 28, Kelvin Holdsworth, “The Rt Rev Kevin Pearson”, in Thurible.net‎[1]:
      The wind blew so hard during the service itself that it seemed as though the whole of Oban bay was trying to get into the cathedral. Either that or it was the Holy Spirit blowing up a hooley in celebration.

See also

References

  1. ^ “hoolie, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, February 2025.
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