hallowed
adjective
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Hallowed Has Old English Roots
The adjective hallowed, meaning "holy" or "revered," isn’t especially spooky, but its history is entwined with that of a certain spooky season. Hallowed is the past participle of the verb hallow, a term that descends from the Middle English word halowen. That word can be traced back to the Old English adjective hālig, meaning "holy." During the Middle Ages, All Hallows' Day was the name for what Christians now call All Saints' Day (hallow was once used also as a noun referring to a saint), and the evening that preceded All Hallows' Day was All Hallows' Eve or All Hallow Even—or, as we know it today, Halloween. (Although pumpkins are often hollowed out on Halloween, hollow has a different Old English root.)
Examples of hallowed in a Sentence
Charles Selle, Chicago Tribune, 11 June 2025
For nearly a century, the thunderous roar of Ducati engines has echoed across the globe's most hallowed race tracks.
—Shelby Knick, Forbes.com, 5 June 2025
Gettysburg National Cemetery, Pennsylvania One of the most hallowed grounds in the country, this cemetery is where Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address.
—Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 22 May 2025
May 9 is a hallowed day for the former Soviet Union, which lost 27 million people during World War II.
—Keir Simmons, NBC news, 9 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for hallowed
Cite this Entry
“Hallowed.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hallowed. Accessed 1 Jul. 2025.
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