Dictionary

halidom en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈhælɪdəm/

Etymology

From Middle English halidom, haliȝdom, from Old English hāliġdōm (“holiness, righteousness, sanctity; holy place, sanctuary, chapel; relics, holy things; holy office; sacrament; holy doctrines”), corresponding to holy + -dom, from Proto-Germanic *hailagadōmaz. Cognate with Dutch heiligdom (“sanctuary, shrine”), German Heiligtum (“sanctuary, shrine, holy relic”), Swedish helgedom (“shrine, sanctuary, temple, sanctum”), Icelandic helgidómur (“sanctuary, holy relic”).

Meanings

1. (obsolete) Holiness; sanctity; sacred honour.
   • Now he's put the final seal on his Kingship, his halidom, by slaying a challenger in the Wood. 1987, Poul and Karen Anderson, The King of Ys (SciFi), page 422:
   • Now sure and by my hallidome ( quoth he ) / Ye a great master are in your degree 1591, Ed[mund] Sp[enser], “Prosopopoia. Or Mother Hubberds Tale.”, in Complaints. Containing Sundrie Small Poemes of the Worlds Vanitie. […], London: […] William Ponsonbie, […], →OCLC:
2. (archaic) A sanctuary; lands held of a religious foundation.
   • […] save for Wodan, who had a richly bedecked halidom nearby. 1983, Poul Anderson, Time Patrolman (SciFi), Tom Doherty Associates, →ISBN:
3. (archaic) Something regarded as sacred; a holy relic.
   • “By my halidom,” said he, “we have forgotten, Sir Prior, to name the fair Sovereign of Love and of Beauty, by whose white hand the palm is to be distributed.” 1819, Walter Scott, Ivanhoe:

Forms