whole English · revision 2010

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 725 (Beowulf)|origins=ine-pro *kailo-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /həʊl/, US /hoʊl/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|hool]] or [[m|enm|hole]], [[inh|ang|hāl|t=entire, unhurt, healthy]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) from [[gem-pro|*hailaz]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) with cognates in [[ofs|hāl]], [[osx|hēl]], [[nl|heel]], [[goh|heil]] and [[non|heill]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Klein 1966) It comes from [[ine-pro|*kailo-|t=whole, uninjured, of good omen]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) which also gave [[cy|coel|t=omen]] and [[prg|kailūstiskun|t=health]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) The spelling with wh- appeared in the early 15th century and reflects a dialect pronunciation with ''w'';^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998)^(SOED 2002) the word is a doublet of [[hale]], and related to [[heal]], [[health]] and [[holy]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Klein 1966)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Entire, unhurt, healthy, sound: Old English ''hāl'', about 725, in ''Beowulf''.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) It also meant “genuine, straightforward”.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The sense of health faded from the word, which kept it in phrases such as Middle English ''with whole wits'' “of sound mind” (early 15th century);^(Etymonline) the noun meant “health, cure” about 1200 and “happiness” about 1300,^(Etymonline) before it came to mean “the full amount, the entire body” in the late 14th century (before 1387, in Trevisa).^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) A ''whole number'' is early 14th century according to Etymonline^(Etymonline) and 1557 according to Barnhart,^(Barnhart 1988) and ''whole milk'' is from 1782 or 1794.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) ''On the whole'' “all things considered” dates from the 1690s.^(Etymonline) Derivatives include ''wholesome'' (about 1200), ''wholly'' (before 1338), ''wholesale'' (before 1417, figuratively from 1642) and ''wholehearted'' (1840, American).^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – Old English ''hāl'' (''Beowulf'').^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1200 – noun, health, cure, and ''wholesome''.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * before 1338 – ''wholly''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * late 14th century – noun, the full amount.^(Etymonline)

+ * before 1417 – ''wholesale''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1420 – spelling ''wholle''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1557 – ''whole number''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1690s – ''on the whole''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1782 – ''whole milk''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1840 – ''wholehearted''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Containing all its parts; [[complete]].^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # Not divided; in one piece.^(AHD)

+ # Full in amount or duration: ''the whole day''.^(AHD)

+ # Unhurt; sound or healed.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # Of a number, not a [[fraction]]; [[integer|alt=integral]].^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A complete thing, lacking no part.^(AHD)

+ # A system made up of related parts.^(AHD)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # Entirely: ''swallowed whole''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[wholeness]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[hale]]

+ * [[heal]]

+ * [[health]]

+ * [[holy]]

+ * [[hail]]

+ * [[wassail]]

+ * [[wholesome]]

+ * [[wholly]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ RHWU distinguishes ''whole'', all there is, every part undivided, from ''total'', the complete amount reached by adding things together.^(RHWU)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}