holly

English

/ˈhɒli/, /ˈhɑli/

noun
Definitions
  • Any of various shrubs or (mostly) small trees, of the genus Ilex, either evergreen or deciduous, used as decoration especially at Christmas.
  • The wood from this tree.
  • (with a qualifier) Any of several unrelated plant species likened to Ilex because of their prickly, evergreen foliage and/or round, bright-red berries

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English holly inherited from Old English holeġn inherited from *hulis (holly) derived from Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- (cover, hide, conceal, cold, protect, incline, hot, warm, cut, save).

Origin

Proto-Indo-European

*ḱel-

Gloss

cover, hide, conceal, cold, protect, incline, hot, warm, cut, save

Concept
Semantic Field

Basic actions and technology

Ontological Category

Action/Process

Kanji

冷, 寒

Emoji
🤭 📔

Timeline

Distribution of cognates by language

Geogrpahic distribution of cognates

Cognates and derived terms