Word.ws English Dictionary

holy of holies

holy of holies is the alternative letter-case form of Holy of Holies.

Proper noun capitalized: Holy of Holies

the Holy of Holies

  1. The inner sanctum of the Temple in Jerusalem.
    • 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.1882, . Franz von Reber, Joseph Thacher Clarke, History of Ancient Art, page 146

Noun capitalized: Holy of Holies

Holy of Holies

  1. (broadly, figuratively) The most sacred place within a sacred building.
  2. (humorous, informal) One's private retreat, an inner sanctum.
  3. (figuratively) That which is holiest among holy things.
    • Rabbi Akiba declared that if the other books of the Bible are holy, Shir Hashirim is the "holy of holies."1996, Macy Nulman, The Encyclopedia of Jewish Prayer, page 305

Synonyms of holy of holies

Forms of holy of holies

Noun
pluralholies of holies
Proper noun
alternative formholy of holies

Origin of holy of holies

Calque of Biblical Hebrew קודש הקודשים \ קֹדֶשׁ הַקֳּדָשִׁים (kódesh hakodashím).

Questions about holy of holies

What does holy of holies mean?
Holy of holies means the inner sanctum of the Temple in Jerusalem.
What is holy of holies the alternative letter-case form of?
Holy of holies is the alternative letter-case form of Holy of Holies.
What part of speech is holy of holies?
Holy of holies can be a proper noun or a noun.

Words near holy of holies in the dictionary

  1. Holy Monday
  2. holy Moses
  3. Holy Mother
  4. holy mother of based
  5. Holy Mother of God
  6. holy of holies
  7. Holy Office
  8. holy orders
  9. holy piss
  10. holy poke
  11. holy pokes

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: holy of holies (page history and authors); Holy of Holies (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-au-Holy of Holies.ogg.

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