神聖 / 虔誠
這一支是 holy 的本義：與神或宗教有關、值得最高敬意。從「東西本身神聖」延伸到「人活得虔誠」，都圍著同一個畫面打轉。
sacred · adjective · C1
Connected with God or a religion, and treated with great respect.
神聖的
核心畫面
You can picture something set apart and lifted above ordinary life because it belongs to God — a temple, a relic, a sacred day. The core feeling is 'this is special, untouchable, to be treated with deep respect.'
可以想成有某樣東西被特別「劃出來」、抬高到日常之上，因為它屬於神——一座聖殿、一件聖物、一個節日。holy 的核心感…更多收起
可以想成有某樣東西被特別「劃出來」、抬高到日常之上，因為它屬於神——一座聖殿、一件聖物、一個節日。holy 的核心感覺是「這個很特別、不可隨便碰、要懷著敬意對待」。後面那些驚嘆、罵人的用法，都是借這份「神聖、了不得」的份量去誇張表達。Two branches
驚嘆 / 強調用語
口語裡借用 holy 那份「了不得、不得了」的份量，但已經脫離宗教，純粹拿來加強情緒——一種把神聖感誇張化、戲謔化的用法。
holy (in exclamations) · adjective · C1
Used at the start of a phrase like 'holy cow' to show that you are surprised or shocked.
（驚嘆）天哪
原始詞典資料9 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，原文照列，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
holyadj/ˈhəʊli/
- 1
Dedicated to a religious purpose or a god.
- I'm planning to visit the holy city of Jerusalem this Christmas.
- ... where he and Basil read together poems and philosophies, and holier things, or talked low and misopogonistcally of their fellow-student Julian’s bearded boding smile were his happiest days.
- 2
Revered in a religion.
- This tree is considered holy in my culture.
- 3
Morally perfect or flawless, or nearly so.
- My grandmother is a very holy woman.
- 4
Separated or set apart from (something unto something or someone else).
- 5
Set apart or dedicated for a specific purpose, or for use by a single entity or person.
- 6
slangUsed as an intensifier in various interjections.
- Holy cow, I can’t believe he actually lost the race!
- Those children next door are holy terrors!
holyintj/ˈhəʊli/
- 1
slangAn expression of astonishment and awe.
holynoun/ˈhəʊli/
- 1
archaicA thing that is extremely holy; used almost exclusively in Holy of Holies.
- The holy of holies, a cubical space of ten cubits on the side, was separated from the larger antechamber by four columns, which were also covered with gold and stood upon silver sockets; they bore a second curtain of four colors.
這個拼法也被記錄為下列字的變化形：
資料來源：英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary（CC BY-SA 4.0）。 原文照列，未經改寫。