Holey
/ˈhoʊli/noun
Having holes; full of holes.
Did you know?The eerie part is that English has a near-twin pair here: holey comes from hole, while holy comes from a completely different ancient root meaning ‘whole’ or ‘uninjured.’
Etymological Timeline
Old English
OE
hol
“a hollow place, cavity, or opening”
Middle English
ME
holey
“having holes; full of openings”
Modern English
EN
holey
“perforated, full of holes”
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*kel-
“to cover, conceal, or hide”