English
holly
Holly comes from Middle English holly, and goes back to Proto-West Germanic *hulis.
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hulisreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150holeġn
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500holly
- Englishearliest quotation 1940same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hulisreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150holeġn
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500holly
- Englishearliest quotation 1940same form
Earliest quotation: 1940, Rosetta E. Clarkson, Green Enchantments: The Magic Spell of Gardens: “Have a tree or two the witches particularly like,…”
The story
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’).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *kelh₂- ‘to beat, break’
clerk, coup, clergy, cleric, calamity, gladiator, holt, calamitous, clematis, clade, gladiolus, 30 more
Today it means
noun Any of various shrubs or (mostly) small trees, of the genus Ilex, either evergreen or deciduous, used as decoration especially at Christmas.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-West Germanic *hulis / holly