HOLLY
What does "HOLLY" mean?
An evergreen shrub or tree with glossy spiny leaves and bright red berries, associated with Christmas.
Meanings
- An evergreen plant of the genus Ilex, with prickly leaves and red berries, used as winter decoration. They hung a wreath of holly on the door for the holidays.
Did you know?
- Only female holly bushes carry the famous red berries: hollies are dioecious, so a berryless holly may simply be male.
- Those cheery Christmas berries are mildly poisonous - holly berries contain saponins and can cause vomiting if a child eats a handful.
Word origin
From Old English 'holegn' or 'holen', the holly tree, from Proto-Germanic '*hulis-'; cognate with German 'Hulst'.
Remember it
HOLLY is two L's standing like spiky leaves, with the round red 'O' berry tucked between them.
A little poem
Spined leaves keep their green-
while the world goes bare and grey
she dares to wear red.
haiku
Wordplay
- Why is holly such a good winter neighbour? It stays green when everyone else has leaves - and it keeps its problems pointed outward.
What it teaches
The plant that holds its colour through winter does it with thorns - beauty in the cold often comes armed.
Quick facts
What does HOLLY mean?
An evergreen shrub or tree with glossy spiny leaves and bright red berries, associated with Christmas.
Is HOLLY a valid word?
Yes — HOLLY is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.
How many letters is HOLLY?
HOLLY has 5 letters and 2 syllables.
Where does HOLLY come from?
From Old English 'holegn' or 'holen', the holly tree, from Proto-Germanic '*hulis-'; cognate with German 'Hulst'.
What can HOLLY teach us?
The plant that holds its colour through winter does it with thorns - beauty in the cold often comes armed.
How players do
Be the first to solve it.