holy water

Noun

holy water (usually uncountable, plural holy waters)

1. (usually) In certain Christian churches, water that has been sanctified by a priest or bishop for the purpose of baptism or for the blessing of persons, places, or things.
   • None comes to this holy feaſt but they vvhoſe ſins are cleanſed in baptiſme, vvho are ſanctified in thoſe holy vvaters of regeneration, vvho have obedient ſouls, ears attentive to the Sermons of the Goſpel, and hearts open to the vvords of Chriſt.1660, Jeremy Taylor, “Of Faith, as It is a Necessary Disposition to the Blessed Sacrament. Sect[ion] I. Of Catechumens or Unbaptized Persons.”, in The Worthy Communicant or A Discourse of the Nature...
   • [W]ith our signs of the cross and holy waters, our crucifixes and prayers to the saints, our scapulars and medals, our so humiliating auricular confession1889, Charles Paschal Telesphore Chiniquy, Fifty Years in the Church of Rome, page 307