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Glite Dictionary
Holy Ghost

Holy Ghost

33 6.7
A spirit of God in Christian belief that guides and comforts people
  • noun
  • /ˈhoʊli ɡoʊst/
  • Formal
translation icon : Espíritu Santo
  • The Father, The Son, and The Holy Ghost.
  • filled with the Holy Ghost
  • descent of the Holy Ghost
  • Son and Holy Ghost

God and Christ and the Holy Ghost, who's not really at issue yet.

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Examples

  • The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, be with us all evermore.

    Wesley (2009)

  • The Holy Ghost is poured out on them all, not only on Jews but on Gentiles.

    Academic text (2017)

  • You need the Holy Ghost, Frank!

    Bringing Out the Dead (1999)

  • In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost.

    Ed Wood (1994)

  • Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

    Bruno (2000)

  • In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.

    The Exorcist: Believer (2023)

  • God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Ghost.

    The Divorcee (1930)

  • We thank you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • As we continue our consecration, let us ask the Holy Ghost to bless this special day.

    Touch (1997)

  • In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

Synonyms

Holy Spirit
vsHoly Ghost
104 4.5

The presence of God that Christians believe works in the world to guide and comfort people

is the promised spiritual presence rather than focus on active worldly action
Paraclete
vsHoly Ghost
  • Formal
1 9.9

A name for the Holy Spirit who helps and guides Jesus' followers after his death

is the promised spiritual presence rather than focusing only on the helper role

Surface Forms

Holy Ghost singular
Holy Ghosts plural

Morphology

holy + Ghost

A learner who knows 'holy' (sacred) and 'ghost' (a spirit) can infer a basic meaning of 'a sacred/spiritual being', so the phrase is partly compositional. However, the specific doctrinal sense as the third person of the Christian Trinity is specialized religious knowledge and is not fully predictable from the constituent words alone, making the expression only partially transparent despite cross-linguistic parallels (e.g. 'Holy Spirit').

Etymology

Holy Ghost comes from older English, where ghost simply meant 'spirit' or 'breath' rather than a dead, scary person. So the phrase gives the image of God's living presence coming to people, which is why it means the 'Holy Spirit' who guides and comforts believers.