hallow
/ˈhæloʊ/noun, verb
hallow is spelled H-A-L-L-O-W: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 61,481st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “hallow vs hollow” about 480 times a month (Google, United States). As a noun, hallow means “A saint; a holy person; an apostle” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of hallow is hallows.
How many letters and syllables are in hallow?
| Letters | 6: H-A-L-L-O-W |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 4 million words; the 61,481st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is hallow?
Hallow appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 61,481st most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce hallow?
- UK /ˈhæləʊ/
- /ˈhalo/
- US /ˈhæloʊ/
Hallow has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-hallow.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with hallow
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Also written: hollow.
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with hallow?
9 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as hallow from its last stressed vowel (/æloʊ/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of hallow
- hallows plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- hallowing participle, present
- hallowed participle, past
- hallo
- hollo
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does hallow mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A saint; a holy person; an apostle.
All Hallows Eve (or Halloween), the night before All Hallows Day (now more commonly known as "All Saints' Day").
- 2
obsoleteThe relics or shrines of saints or non-Christian gods.
To seek hallows: to visit relics or shrines, in the belief that the saints themselves are present there.
- 3
A shout, cry; a hulloo.
verb
- 1
To make holy, to sanctify.
- 2
To shout, especially to urge on dogs for hunting.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Hallow in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | saint, sainte , sanctifier, bénir |
| German | Heiliger, Heilige , heiligen, heilig machen, sanktifizieren, weihen |
| Portuguese | santo, santa , santificar |
| Spanish | santo, santa , santificar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does hallow come from?
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”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).