Holy Grail
or holy grail
noun
Origin of Holy Grail
First recorded in 1580–90
Example sentences from the Web for holy grail
In this holy-grail story, though, the object Parsifal seeks is simply the drinking cup he used when he was young.
British Dictionary definitions for holy grail
Holy Grail
noun
- Also called: Grail, Sangraal (in medieval legend) the bowl used by Jesus at the Last Supper. It was allegedly brought to Britain by Joseph of Arimathea, where it became the quest of many knights
- (in modern spirituality) a symbol of the spiritual wholeness that leads a person to union with the divine
informal
any desired ambition or goal
the Holy Grail of infrared astronomy
Word Origin for Holy Grail
C14
grail from Old French
graal, from Medieval Latin
gradālis bowl, of unknown origin