Holy Family
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
The infant Saviour and his attendants, as Joseph, Mary, Elizabeth, Anne the mother of Mary, and John the Baptist. All five figures are not always introduced in pictures of the "Holy Family.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Holy Family” mean?
The infant Saviour and his attendants, as Joseph, Mary, Elizabeth, Anne the mother of Mary, and John the Baptist. All five figures are not always introduced in pictures of the "Holy Family.
Is “Holy Family” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.