[Grammar] Holy VS sacred

[naweewra]

Hello,

What is the difference between "holy" and "sacred"? Is "holy" necessarily related to religion? Is there a difference between a "holy ground" and a "sacred ground"?

Thank you.

Nawee

 

[konungursvia]

I don't see much difference. Holy is an Anglo-Saxon word. Sacred is Latin. Perhaps holy sounds like an inherent property of an object, while sacred sounds like it is similarly valued by a community, but I'm not sure if that is just my perception of the words.

 

[MikeNewYork]

Hello,

What is the difference between "holy" and "sacred"? Is "holy" necessarily related to religion? Is there a difference between a "holy ground" and a "sacred ground"?

Thank you.

Nawee

The two words are often synonyms. "Holy" almost always has a religious connotation whereas "sacred" has some secular meanings.

 

[Tdol]

Sacred is more likely to be used in secular contexts- a football ground could be described as sacred​ to fans, but is less likely to be described as holy.