Meanings
- A liturgical or variant form of hallelujah.
plural alleluias
- A liturgical form of hallelujah.
- entertainmentA choral composition incorporating alleluia in its text.
Down at the corner, carols bugled steamily from a mission soup-kitchen. There's no escape from it, he thought. Turn on the radio, and its alleluia licks you with tremolo tongue.
1953 December, Hortense Calisher, “A Christmas Carillon: A Story”, in John Fischer, editor, Harper’s Magazine, volume 207, number 1243, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 38, column 1 - The plant wood sorrel.
present singular third person alleluias · participle present alleluiaing · participle past alleluiaed · past alleluiaed
- alternativeAlternative spelling of hallelujah.
Origin
- Biblical Hebrewהַלְּלוּ (halləlū)
- Biblical Hebrewיָהּ (yɔh)
- Biblical Hebrewהַלְּלוּיָהּ (halləlūyɔh)
- Ancient Greekἀλληλούϊα (allēloúïa)
- Latinallēlūia
- Englishalleluia
Learned borrowing from Latin allēlūia, borrowed from Ancient Greek ἀλληλούϊα (allēloúïa), borrowed from Biblical Hebrew הַלְּלוּיָהּ (halləlūyɔh, “praise the Lord”), from הַלְּלוּ (halləlū, “praise!”) + יָהּ (yɔh, “Lord, Jah”).
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek ἀλληλούϊα
- ἀλληλούϊα (allēloúïa)liturgical form of hallelujah
Chinese Mandarin 哈利路亞 /哈利路亚
- 哈利路亞 /哈利路亚 (hālìlùyà)liturgical form of hallelujah
French alléluia
- alléluialiturgical form of hallelujah
German Halleluja
- Hallelujaliturgical form of hallelujah
Greek αλληλούια
- αλληλούια (alliloúia)liturgical form of hallelujah
Irish aililiú
- aililiúliturgical form of hallelujah
Italian alleluia
- alleluialiturgical form of hallelujah
Korean 알렐루야
- 알렐루야 (allelluya)liturgical form of hallelujah
Latin allelūia
- allelūialiturgical form of hallelujah
Māori hariruia, hareruia
- hariruialiturgical form of hallelujah
- hareruialiturgical form of hallelujah
Polish alleluja
- allelujaliturgical form of hallelujah
Portuguese aleluia
- aleluialiturgical form of hallelujah
Russian аллилу́йя
- аллилу́йя (allilújja)liturgical form of hallelujah
Spanish aleluya
- aleluyaliturgical form of hallelujah
Swedish halleluja
- hallelujaliturgical form of hallelujah
Cite this entry
alleluia. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/alleluia
“alleluia.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/alleluia. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “alleluia,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/alleluia.
Source: alleluia on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.