Pronunciation
IPA(key): /ˈxɑːl.ɡɑ/, [ˈhɑːɫ.ɣɑ]
Etymology 1
From Proto-West Germanic *hailagō, from Proto-Germanic *hailagô (“holy person”), weak masculine singular of *hailagaz (“holy”). Cognate with Old High German heilego (“saint”). Formally equivalent to Old Norse Helgi (proper name, literally “Holy One”).
Noun
hālga m
- holy man, saint (male or of unspecified gender)
- late 10th century, Ælfric, Lives of Saints
Fif and twentiġ manna myslīċe ġeuntrume cōmon tō þām hālgan heora hǣle biddende; sum wǣron blinde, sume wǣron healte, sume ēac dēafe, and dumbe ēac sum and hī ealle wurdon ānes dæġes ġehǣlede þurh þæs hālgan þingunge and him hām ġewendon.- Twenty-five men, sickened in various ways, came to the saint begging for the health; some were blind, some were lame, some were also deaf, and some were dumb, and they were all healed in one day through the intercession of the saint and went home.
Declension
Weak:
More information singular, plural ...
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Derived terms
- ealra hālgena mæssedæġ
- sundorhālga
Descendants
- Middle English: halwe, halewe, halow, halowe, haluwe, halu, halghe, haligh, halogh, halege, halȝe, halȝæ, halȝen, halhe