Holy vs Only - What's the difference?
holy | only |
Dedicated to a religious purpose or a god.
Revered in a religion.
Perfect or flawless.
Separated or set apart from (something unto something or someone else).
Set apart or dedicated for a specific purpose, or for use by a single entity or person.
(slang) Used as an intensifier in various interjections.
(archaic) A thing that is extremely holy; used almost exclusively in (Holy of Holies).
* Franz von Reber, Joseph Thacher Clarke, History of Ancient Art (1882) p. 146:
Alone in a category.
* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-26, author=
, volume=189, issue=7, page=32, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly)
, title= Singularly Superior; the best.
* (William Shakespeare)
Without sibling; without a sibling of the same gender.
* 1949 , and (Ernestine Gilbreth Carey), (Cheaper by the Dozen) , dedication:
(label) Mere.
* , I.40:
Without others or anything further; exclusively.
* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-07, author=
, volume=188, issue=26, page=6, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly)
, title= No more than; just.
* 1949 , Frank B. Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey, (Cheaper by the Dozen) , dedication:
* {{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham), title=(The China Governess)
, chapter=20 * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-22, volume=407, issue=8841, page=70, magazine=(The Economist)
, title= As recently as.
* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-08-03, volume=408, issue=8847, magazine=(The Economist)
, title= (obsolete) Above all others; particularly.
* Marston
Under the condition that; but.
However.
But for the fact that; except.
(rare) only child
* 2013 , Sybil L. Hart, ?Maria Legerstee, Handbook of Jealousy
As adjectives the difference between holy and only
is that holy is naked while only is alone in a category.As an adverb only is
without others or anything further; exclusively.As a conjunction only is
under the condition that; but.As a noun only is
(rare) only child.holy
English
Adjective
(er)- I'm planning to visit the holy city of Mecca this Ramadan.
- Holy cow, I can’t believe he actually lost the race!
Synonyms
* (dedicated to a religious purpose or a god) sacred * (revered in a religion) sacred * faultless, flawless, perfect * (separated or set apart from something) sanctified * (set apart or dedicated for a specific purpose) reserved, specialAntonyms
* (dedicated to a religious purpose or a god) * (revered in a religion) profane, secular, unholy, worldly * damaged, defective, faulty, flawed, imperfect * (separated or set apart from something) * (set apart or dedicated for a specific purpose) commonDerived terms
* holiest of holies * holiness * holy cats * holy cow * holy crap * Holy Ghost * Holy Grail * Holy of Holies * holy mackerel * holy moly, holy moley * holy Moses * holy mother of God * Holy See * holy shit * holy smoke * holy snakes * Holy Spirit * holy Toledo * Holy Trinity * holy war * holy water * Holy WeekNoun
(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.
Derived terms
* holiest of holies * Holy of Holiesonly
English
Alternative forms
* onely (obsolete)Adjective
(-)Nick Miroff
Mexico gets a taste for eating insects, passage=The San Juan market is Mexico City's most famous deli of exotic meats, where an adventurous shopper can hunt down hard-to-find critters such as ostrich, wild boar and crocodile. Only the city zoo offers greater species diversity.}}
- Motley's the only wear.
- To DAD ¶ who only reared twelve children ¶ and ¶ To MOTHER ¶ who reared twelve only children
- I know some who wittingly have drawne both profit and preferment from cuckoldrie, the only name whereof is so yrksome and bail-ful to so many men.
Synonyms
* (alone in a category) sole, lone * (singularly superior) peerless, unequaled, nonpareilDerived terms
* if any * if only * one and only * only child * only game in town * only ifAdverb
(-)Ed Pilkington
‘Killer robots’ should be banned in advance, UN told, passage=In his submission to the UN, [Christof] Heyns points to the experience of drones. Unmanned aerial vehicles were intended initially only for surveillance, and their use for offensive purposes was prohibited, yet once strategists realised their perceived advantages as a means of carrying out targeted killings, all objections were swept out of the way.}}
- To DAD
- who only reared twelve children
- and
- To MOTHER
- who reared twelve only children
citation, passage=‘No. I only opened the door a foot and put my head in. The street lamps shine into that room. I could see him. He was all right. Sleeping like a great grampus. Poor, poor chap.’}}
Engineers of a different kind, passage=Private-equity nabobs bristle at being dubbed mere financiers. Piling debt onto companies’ balance-sheets is only a small part of what leveraged buy-outs are about, they insist. Improving the workings of the businesses they take over is just as core to their calling, if not more so. Much of their pleading is public-relations bluster.}}
Yesterday’s fuel, passage=The dawn of the oil age was fairly recent. Although the stuff was used to waterproof boats in the Middle East 6,000 years ago, extracting it in earnest began only in 1859 after an oil strike in Pennsylvania. The first barrels of crude fetched $18 (around $450 at today’s prices).}}
- his most only elected mistress
Derived terms
* if and only if * only ifConjunction
(English Conjunctions)Statistics
*Noun
(onlies)- The consistent finding that infants who are onlies do not differ from those who have siblings despite their lesser history of exposure to differential treatment is perplexing.
