holey, a.
(ˈhəʊlɪ)
Forms: 4–7 holy, hollie, -y, 5–6 hooly, (6 erron. holely), 7– holey.
[f. hole n. + -y. (The e is retained, to distinguish it to the eye from holy a.)]
Full of holes.
| 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. viii. xxi. (Bodl. MS.), Thei [stars] beþ rounde in substaunce..nouȝt holouȝ noþer holly in þe vtter partie. 1551–2 Act 5 & 6 Edw. VI, c. 6 §6 Yf..Clothe..happen..to be full of holes mylbrack or to be hollie [Ruffhead holely]. 1578 Lyte Dodoens ii. xxv. 177 Leaues..holy, as though they had bene eaten with Locustes, Paulmers or Snayles. 1637 Rutherford Let. to Ld. Lowdoun 10 Sept., An old hollie and threed-bare garment. 1818 J. Brown Psyche 127 'Tis just as holey as a crumpet. 1875 Jowett Plato, Gorgias Introd. II. 287 Fools are supposed to be carrying water to this vessel in a holey sieve. |
b. holey (erron. holy) dollar, a Spanish dollar out of which a dump had been punched (see dump n.2 b), formerly current in parts of Australia.
| 1857 D. Bunce Austral. Remin. 59 Our first change for a pound consisted of two dumps, two holy dollars, one Spanish dollar, one French coin [etc.]. 1883 Numism. Chron. Ser. iii. III. 119 These coins popularly called ‘holey dollars’ are extremely scarce. |