# hooley

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈhuːli/ · frequency rank #79,596

## Definitions
1. A noisy celebration or party; also, an evening of traditional music and dance.
2. Chiefly in the form to blow a hooley: a strong wind; a gale.

## Etymology
The etymology of sense 1 (“noisy celebration or party”) is unknown. Sense 2 (“strong wind”) is possibly from one of the following:
* Borrowed from Orkney Scots hool(an) (“strong wind”) + English -ie (diminutive suffix). Hoolan is derived from Norn (unattested), from Old Norse ýlun (“howling, wailing”), from ýla (“to howl”) (ultimately onomatopoeic) + -un (suffix forming nouns).
* From sense 1.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/hooley