holy man
19
4.9
- noun
- /ˈhoʊli mæn/
:
santo
- The villagers revered him as a holy man for his selfless acts and deep spirituality.
- Hindu holy man
Aside from preachers and holy men, I don't think there's a more misunderstood way of life.
- Aside from preachers and holy men, I don't think there's a more misunderstood way of life.
Examples
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Our Messiah will be a holy man of flesh and blood, not a gigantic clay figure.
Academic text (2001) -
I'm a holy man.
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We're going after a holy man here.
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And then you take our leader, a holy man...
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This holy man said just three words to me - just three.
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The princess in love with a holy man.
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Even without his habit, we would know he was a holy man.
Fiction book (1993) -
They say he was saved by a holy man.
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But it is also a holy place; imams come to study with the resident holy man.
Fiction book (2002) -
Priests became holy men who brought civilization to a lost flock.
Academic text (2003)
Synonyms
308
3.9
A very holy, kind person often officially declared by the Church
1
4.5
A person people respect for being very religious and thought to help others with prayer
How Holy
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun meaning is a straightforward composition of 'holy' (sacred, divine) + 'man' (adult male), so the overall sense of a man regarded as especially religious is directly derivable from the parts. This adjective+noun pattern is cross‑linguistically common and lacks idiomatic shift, so a B1 learner who knows both words will understand the expression.
Etymology
Holy man comes from the simple picture of a man who lived a very religious life and was called holy by his village because people came to him for blessings and advice. So today holy man means a man seen as especially 'spiritual' or religious.