hallow

/ˈhæləʊ/

//ˈhæləʊ// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"hallow" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“hallow” is uncommon English (frequency #61,513 among 2,646 “H” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#61,513
frequency rank, English
2,646
“H” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A saint; a holy person; an apostle.

Corpus desk

Index EN-hallow · hallow · English

hallow · rank #61,513 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #61,513
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,646
  • PHOTO-FINISH hallucinatory

Nearest frequency peer: hallucinatory (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “hallow”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “hallow” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for hallow
PropertyValue
Headwordhallow
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈhæləʊ/
Letters6
Frequency rank#61,513
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “hallow” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).hallowfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “hallucinatory” (#61,514), “habanero” (#61,510), “hanky” (#61,516). Among 2,646 “H” headwords, “hallow” is #61,513. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

hallow is uncommon English at frequency #61,513 among 2,646 “H” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈhæləʊ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for hallow in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: Inherited from Middle English halwe (“a saint, holy thing, shrine”), from Old English hālga (“a holy one, saint”), from Proto-Germanic *hailagô (“holy one”), from *hailagaz (“holy”), from Proto-Germanic *hailaz (“whole, safe, hale”), from Proto-Indo-Europea… The correct English form is hallow, spelled H-A-L-L-O-W.

Definition

  1. 1
    A saint; a holy person; an apostle.
  2. 2
    The relics or shrines of saints or non-Christian gods.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how hallow appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. All Hallows Eve (or Halloween), the night before All Hallows Day (now more commonly known as "All Saints' Day").
  2. To seek hallows: to visit relics or shrines, in the belief that the saints themselves are present there.

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English halwe (“a saint, holy thing, shrine”), from Old English hālga (“a holy one, saint”), from Proto-Germanic *hailagô (“holy one”), from *hailagaz (“holy”), from Proto-Germanic *hailaz (“whole, safe, hale”), from Proto-Indo-European *kéh₂ilos (“safe, unharmed”). Cognate with Scots halow, hallow (“saint”), German Heiliger (“saint (male)”) / Heilige (“saint (female)”). More at holy, whole.

This word in other languages

santo(Español)saint(Français)Heiliger(Deutsch)santo(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "hallow"?
"hallow" is spelled H-A-L-L-O-W. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈhæləʊ/.
What does "hallow" mean?
As a noun, "hallow" means: A saint; a holy person; an apostle.
How do you pronounce "hallow"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "hallow" is /ˈhæləʊ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "hallow"?
Inherited from Middle English halwe (“a saint, holy thing, shrine”), from Old English hālga (“a holy one, saint”), from Proto-Germanic *hailagô (“holy one”), from *hailagaz (“holy”), from Proto-Germanic *hailaz (“whole, safe, hale”), from Proto-In... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "hallow", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Haring#61,519grampa#61,501Henkel#61,529glitzy#61,496

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list