Lexic.us

Definition of Holly

1. Noun. Any tree or shrub of the genus Ilex having red berries and shiny evergreen leaves with prickly edges.

Definition of Holly

1. adv. Wholly.

2. n. A tree or shrub of the genus Ilex. The European species (Ilex Aquifolium) is best known, having glossy green leaves, with a spiny, waved edge, and bearing berries that turn red or yellow about Michaelmas.

Definition of Holly

1. Proper noun. (given name female from=English), from the name of the tree. ¹

2. Noun. Any of various shrubs or (mostly) small trees, of the genus ''Ilex'', either evergreen or deciduous, used as decoration especially at Christmas. ¹

3. Noun. The wood from this tree. ¹

4. Noun. (context: with a qualifier) Any of several unrelated plant species likened to ''Ilex'' because of their prickly, evergreen foliage and/or round, bright-red berries ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Holly

1. a tree [n -LIES]

Medical Definition of Holly

1. 1. A tree or shrub of the genus Ilex. The European species (Ilex Aguifolium) is best known, having glossy green leaves, with a spiny, waved edge, and bearing berries that turn red or yellow about Michaelmas. The holly is much used to adorn churches and houses, at Christmas time, and hence is associated with scenes of good will and rejoicing. It is an evergreen tree, and has a finegrained, heavy, white wood. Its bark is used as a febrifuge, and the berries are violently purgative and emetic. The American holly is the Ilex opaca, and is found along the coast of the United States, from Maine southward. 2. The holm oak. See 1st Holm. Holly-leaved oak, a species of Eryngium. See Eryngium. Origin: OE holi, holin, AS. Holen, holegn; akin to D. & G. Hulst, OHG. Huls hulis, W. Celyn, Armor. Kelen, Gael. Cuilionn, Ir. Cuileann. Cf. 1st Holm, Hulver. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Holly

Literary usage of Holly

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. United States Supreme Court Reports by Lawyers Co-operative Publishing Company, United States Supreme Court (1886)
"This done at the City of Holly Springs, Marshall County, ... In the fall of 1871 the inhabitants of the City of Holly Springs were desirous that the city ..."

2. The Trees of America: Native and Foreign, Pictorially and Botanically by Daniel Jay Browne (1846)
"Ciliated-leaved Holly. Leaves small, with prickles along the margin like ... Fierce-spine-leaved, or Hedgehog Holly. Leaves rolled and covered with spines. ..."

3. St. Nicholas by Mary Mapes Dodge (1879)
"NE Christmas, there was a great scarcity of holly in that part of the country ... Everybody decorated their houses with Christmas greens, and as holly- ..."

4. The Encyclopaedia Britannica: A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, Literature and (1910)
"297) says of the holly: " During several years I have examined many plants, but have never ... The holly occurs in Britain, north-east Scotland excepted, ..."

5. South Eastern Reporter by West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, West Publishing Company, South Carolina Supreme Court (1911)
"The agent of the Virginia Company told Holly and Cromwell that they might get a policy with the Greensboro Life, and also told the agent of the Greensboro ..."

6. The Gentleman's Magazine (1869)
"Holly TIME. HE wood is barren as the wold, The leaves have rusted long ago ; The flowers have perished of the cold,- Not even the hot marigold Offers her ..."

7. The Rebellion Record: A Diary of American Events, with Documents, Narratives by Frank Moore, Edward Everett (1863)
"Holly Springs is the handsomest place we hive seen yet on our southward march. It is beautifully laid out, with wide streets, planted on each side with rows ..."

Other Resources: