To hallow is "to make holy or sacred, to sanctify or consecrate, to venerate".[1] The adjective form hallowed, as used in The Lord's Prayer, means holy, consecrated, sacred, or revered.[2]
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The noun is from the Old English adjective hálig, nominalized as se hálga "the holy man". The Gothic word for "holy" is either hailags or weihaba, weihs. "To hold as holy" or "to become holy" is weihnan, "to make holy, to sanctify" is weihan. Holiness or sanctification is weihia. Old English like Gothic had a second term of similar meaning, weoh "holy", with a substantive wih or wig, Old High German wih or wihi (Middle High German wîhe, Modern German Weihe). The Nordendorf fibula has wigiþonar, interpreted as wigi-þonar "holy Donar" or "sacred to Donar". Old Norse vé is a type of shrine. The weihs group is cognate to Latin victima, an animal dedicated to the gods and destined to be sacrificed.
In modern English usage, the "hallow" appears mostly in compounds in Halloween and Hallowmas. Halloween (or Hallowe'en) is a shortened form of "All Hallow Even", meaning "All Hallow's Eve" coopted to be "All Saints' Eve".[3] Hallowmas, the day after Halloween, is shortened from "Hallow's mass", and is also known as "All Hallow's Day" or "All Saints' Day".[4]
Hallows can, but did not originally, refer to saints, the relics (including remains) of the saints, the relics of gods, or shrines in which relics are kept.[5][6] Since the essence of these saints or gods were often considered present at their shrines and in their relics, hallows came to refer to the saints or gods themselves, rather than just their relics or shrines.
Samhain predated Christianity; All Hallow's Eve was the alternative celebration. Like celebrating Christmas in December when Jesus was more than likely born in April (shepherds in the fields and all that) to co-opt Saturnalia and all the Mythraic holidays.