holy of holies

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holy of ho·lies

(hō′lēz)

1. Judaism The sanctuary inside the tabernacle in the Temple of Jerusalem, in which the Ark of the Covenant was kept.

2. Eastern Orthodox Church The bema or sanctuary in a church.

3. A place of awe.

[Translation of Late Latin sānctum sānctōrum (ultimately translation of Hebrew qōdeš haq-qodāšîm) : sānctum, neuter of sānctus, holy + sānctōrum, neuter genitive pl. of sānctus.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

holy of holies

1. any place of special sanctity

2. (Judaism) (capitals) the innermost compartment of the Jewish tabernacle, and later of the Temple, where the Ark was enshrined

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ho′ly of ho′lies

the innermost chamber of the Biblical tabernacle and the Temple in Jerusalem, in which the ark of the covenant was kept.

[1350–1400; Middle English, translation of Late Latin sanctum sanctōrum, translation of Greek tò hágion tôn hagíōn, itself translation of Hebrew qōdesh haqqodāshīm]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	holy of holies - (figurative) something regarded as sacred or inviolable; "every politician fears to touch that holy of holies, the Social Security System" sacredness - the quality of being sacred
	2.	holy of holies - (Judaism) sanctuary comprised of the innermost chamber of the Tabernacle in the temple of Solomon where the Ark of the Covenant was kept sanctum sanctorum sanctuary - a consecrated place where sacred objects are kept Tabernacle - (Judaism) a portable sanctuary in which the Jews carried the Ark of the Covenant on their exodus Judaism - the monotheistic religion of the Jews having its spiritual and ethical principles embodied chiefly in the Torah and in the Talmud

Translations

holy of holies

n → sancta sanctorum m inv

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

References in classic literature ?

The good MacW- would not even come out to his meals, and fed solitarily in his holy of holies from a tray covered with a white napkin.

It seems unable to abide for many seconds together in the holy of holies of the captain's state-room; it will out on deck and gaze ahead, through straining eyes, as the appointed moment comes nearer.

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"I shall go on in the same way, losing my temper with Ivan the coachman, falling into angry discussions, expressing my opinions tactlessly; there will be still the same wall between the holy of holies of my soul and other people, even my wife; I shall still go on scolding her for my own terror, and being remorseful for it; I shall still be as unable to understand with my reason why I pray, and I shall still go on praying; but my life now, my whole life apart from anything that can happen to me, every minute of it is no more meaningless, as it was before, but it has the positive meaning of goodness, which I have the power to put into it."

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"Ah," he continued with a malicious snarl, "but the Earth man shall suffer for the indignities he has put upon the holy of holies, nor shall any vileness be too vile to inflict upon his princess.

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This was her high altar and holy of holies. She came to it in trouble, in loneliness, for counsel, divination, end comfort.

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I know - this is your holy of holies, but the Duke smokes here - I've seen him.

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Then it was that Tarzan translated the strange ceremony that had preceded his introduction into this holy of holies.

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When I came to the sense of this error, it was with the belief that at least no one else had ever appreciated him so fully, stood so close to him in that holy of holies where he wrought his miracles.

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"Tonight, when it is dark I will torture him." She looked upon his perfect, godlike figure and upon his handsome, smiling face and then she steeled her heart again by thoughts of her love spurned; by religious thoughts that damned the infidel who had desecrated the holy of holies; who had taken from the blood-stained altar of Opar the offering to the Flaming God--and not once but thrice.

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"Another day" will do for brick and mortar, but not for the Holy of Holies into which Howards End had been transfigured.

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It seemed to him that he had intruded upon the holy of holies, and slowly and carefully he moved his head aside from the contact which thrilled him like an electric shock and of which she had not been aware.

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She was all that was pure and good, a holy of holies not lightly to be profaned even by what might possibly be the too ardent reverence of a devotee.