holly

Meaning

1. (countable, uncountable) Any of various shrubs or (mostly) small trees, of the genus Ilex, either evergreen or deciduous, used as decoration especially at Christmas.
2. (countable, uncountable) The wood from this tree.
3. (countable, uncountable) Any of several not closely related plant species likened to Ilex because of their prickly, evergreen foliage and/or round, bright-red berries

Synonyms

ilex

holm oak

Ilex aquifolium

juneberry holly

largeleaf holly

smooth winterberry holly

Chinese ilex

evergreen

Dong celadon

Aquifoliaceae

Translations

houx

hulst

Stechpalme

agrifoglio

acebo

azevinho

grèvol

ilex

azevim

çobanpüskülü

Ilex

Hülse

ίλεξ

grefuèlh

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈhɒli/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: holly

Inherited from Old English: holeġn

Cognate with Scots: holin

Cognate with Dutch: hulst

Cognate with German: Hulst

Cognate with French: houx

Cognate with Danish: hylver

Cognate with Welsh: celyn

Cognate with Russian: ко́лос

Cognate with Albanian: kalli

Cognate with Latin: culmus

Cognate with Sanskrit: कटम्ब

Cognate with Church Slavic: класъ

In summary

From Middle English holly, holi, holie, a shortened variation of holin, holyn (> English dialectal hollen, holm), from Old English holeġn, holen (“holly; prince, protector”), from Proto-West Germanic *hulis (“holly”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *kelh₂- (“to beat, break”).
Cognates
Cognate with Scots holin, hollin, holyn (“holly”), Dutch hulst (“holly”), German Hulst (“holly”), French houx ("holly" < Germanic), Danish hylver (“holly”), Welsh celyn (“holly”), Russian ко́лос (kólos, “ear of wheat”), Albanian kalli (“straw, chaff”), Latin culmus (“stalk, stem”), Sanskrit कटम्ब (kaṭamba, “arrow”), Old Church Slavonic класъ (klasŭ, “ear of grain”).