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saúde

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Etymology and origin of the Portuguese word saúde

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
1214 the testament of Afonso II More words from the 13th century
Inherited from
Latin salus
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European *solh₂-
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin salūs
French salut
Romanian salut
Italian salute
Portuguese saúde
Spanish salud
From the same root
Latin salūtāre ← salūs
Latin salūtāris ← salūs
Latin salūtō ← salūs

Pronunciation

  • Brazil: /saˈu.d͡ʒi/[1]
  • Portugal: /sɐˈu.dɨ/, [sɐˈu.ðɨ][1]
  • Portugal, Southern: /sɐˈu.dɨ/[1]

Forms

saúde f (usually uncountable, plural saúdes)[1] Old forms are saude, ssaude, saudi, ssahude and soude; the spelling soúde is still found in Galician documents of the 15th century.[2][3] Before the accent was written the word was spelt saude or saüde.[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin salūs (“safety, well-being”), from its accusative, written Old Galician-Portuguese saude in the oldest texts.[2][4][3][1] Medieval texts also have Old Galician-Portuguese soude and Old Galician-Portuguese ssahude.[2][3]

The same Latin word is Galician saúde, Spanish salud, Catalan salut, French salut and Italian salute.[5][1] The Latin noun is related to salvus (“safe, whole”), and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *solh₂- (“whole, complete”).[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

A Latin charter of 1047 already writes in domino deo eterna salude.[3] The first Portuguese record is the testament of Afonso II (1214): a saude de mia alma “the salvation of my soul”.[3] A letter of 1257 opens a uos alcaydes ... saude, a greeting.[3]

Semantic evolution

The Cantigas de Santa Maria use the word in three senses that run through its history: bodily health (the Virgin dá aos mortos vida e a enfermos saude), the salvation of the soul, and a greeting.[3] Houaiss dates the sense of a toast, drinking to someone's health, to the 13th century, and that of strength and vigour to the 14th.[2] Morais (1813) records beber à saúde and fazer uma saúde a alguém, to drink a toast.[6]

The interjection saúde! is said to someone who sneezes and, in Portugal, at parting; it also means “cheers” when drinking.[2][7][1] Modern usage added public health and the health service.[8] In Portugal saúde is also another name for the green bush cricket, more often esperança.[2]

Timeline

  • 1047 – a Latin charter writes eterna salude.[3]
  • 1214 – a saude de mia alma in the testament of Afonso II.[3]
  • 1257 – saude as the greeting of a letter.[3]
  • 1200s – the Cantigas de Santa Maria use it for health, salvation and greeting; the sense “toast” dates from the same century.[3][2]
  • 1300s – the forms saudi, soude and ssahude.[2]
  • 1569 – Cardoso renders it with Latin valetudo.[9]
  • 1500s – first records of salutar and saudável.[4]
  • 1813 – Morais records beber à saúde.[6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. health: the state of a body or mind free from disease: Ele tem uma saúde frágil.[2][1]
  2. Physical and mental well-being.[2][10]
  3. strength, vigour: vender saúde, to be the picture of health.[2][11]
  4. A toast, a greeting made by drinking to someone's health.[2][10]
  5. The public health services and the medical care given by the state.[8]
  6. (Portugal, entomology) A green bush cricket; esperança.[2]

Interjection

  1. cheers (when drinking).[1][12]
  2. bless you (to someone who has sneezed).[2][1]
  3. (Portugal) Goodbye; also said to show someone that it is time to leave.[2][13]

Word family

  • saudável

Usage notes

Saúde de ferro is an iron constitution, and vender saúde to look very healthy;[2][7] ter saúde para is Brazilian for having the patience to put up with something.[2][7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. saúde
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Instituto da Lingua Galega, Dicionario de dicionarios do galego medieval (DDGM), ed. Ernesto González Seoane, Santiago de Compostela: Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, https://ilg.usc.gal/ddgm, p. s.v. saude
  4. ^ a b Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. saúde
  5. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 7555
  6. ^ a b Silva, António de Morais (1813), Diccionario da lingua portugueza, 2nd ed., 2 vols., Lisboa: Typographia Lacerdina, p. 2, 672
  7. ^ a b c Porto Editora (2013), Grande Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, Porto: Porto Editora, p. 8332
  8. ^ a b Academia das Ciências de Lisboa, Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, revised online edition (2023–) of the Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa Contemporânea (2001), https://dicionario.acad-ciencias.pt, p. s.v. saúde
  9. ^ Cardoso, Jerónimo (1569–1570), Dictionarium ex lusitanico in latinum sermonem, Lisboa: João Álvares (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. saude
  10. ^ a b Aulete, Francisco Júlio Caldas, Dicionário contemporâneo da língua portuguesa (1st ed. 1881), online as Aulete Digital, Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, https://aulete.com.br, p. s.v. saúde
  11. ^ Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. saúde
  12. ^ Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa, Lisboa: Priberam Informática, https://dicionario.priberam.org, p. s.v. saúde
  13. ^ Michaelis: Moderno Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, São Paulo: Melhoramentos (online as Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa, https://michaelis.uol.com.br), p. s.v. saúde

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Saúde.” Etymologically, 15 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/pt/sa%C3%BAde. Accessed 16 Nov. 2026.

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