DictionaryRoot: halig
Old English

halig

sacred, consecrated

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Deliberate desecration: a vandal strikes a wooden altar cross with a hammer beside an overturned chalice and scattered candles.
adjective

unholy

un-HOH-lee/ʌnˈhəʊli/

Offending what is regarded as sacred.

Etymology

Halig covered both sacred status and godly character. Negating it therefore gives not only ‘not sacred’ but also ‘impious’ or ‘wicked,’ the stronger moral meaning already found in Old English unhalig.

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