health English · revision 2022

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=Old English (hǣlþ)|origins=ine-pro *kailo-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /helθ/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|helthe]], [[inh|ang|hǣlþ|t=wholeness, soundness]],^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000)^(MWU 2024) formed in West Germanic from [[m|ang|hāl|t=whole, healthy]] (modern [[whole]]) with the abstract suffix [[-th]];^(SOED 2002)^(Hoad 1986)^(Klein 1966) the corresponding word in Old High German is [[m|goh|heilida]].^(SOED 2002)^(Hoad 1986) Etymonline traces the base to [[ine-pro|*kailo-|t=whole, uninjured, of good omen]],^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000) and notes that it is the abstract noun of ''whole'', not of [[heal]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Wholeness, soundness of body: Old English ''hǣlþ''.^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)^(HTOED) In Old English it also meant spiritual or moral soundness, salvation,^(HTOED) and “healing, cure”, a sense that lasted until 1555.^(HTOED)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Middle English ''health'' could also mean prosperity, happiness, welfare, and safety.^(Etymonline) From 1509 it has also meant the general condition of the body, good or bad, as in ''poor health''.^(HTOED) A toast drunk to someone's welfare is a ''health'' from the 16th century,^(Hoad 1986)^(Etymonline)^(HTOED) hence ''your good health!''.^(SOED 2002) ''Healthful'' “wholesome” is from the 14th century, and also meant “in good health” in the 16th, a sense later taken over by ''healthy''.^(Hoad 1986) ''Health food'' dates from 1848.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Old English – ''hǣlþ'', soundness of body; salvation; healing.^(Etymonline)^(HTOED)

+ * 14th century – ''healthful''.^(Hoad 1986)

+ * 1509 – the general condition of the body.^(HTOED)

+ * 1555 – last use for a cure.^(HTOED)

+ * 1590s – a toast to someone's welfare.^(Etymonline)

+ * 16th century – ''healthy''.^(Hoad 1986)

+ * 1848 – ''health food''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The overall condition of the body or mind at a given time: ''in poor health''.^(AHD)^(HTOED)

+ # Soundness of body or mind; freedom from [[disease]].^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # A state of complete well-being.^(AHD)

+ # A [[toast]] drunk to someone's well-being.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[healthward]]

+ * [[healthcare]]

+ * [[healthful]]

+ * [[healthy]]

+ * [[subhealth]]

+ * [[bill of health]]

+ * [[health club]]

+ * [[health food]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[heal]]

+ * [[whole]]

+ * [[hale]]

+ * [[holy]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ RHWU lists ''vigor'', ''vitality'', ''strength'', ''fitness'' and ''stamina'' as near-synonyms for the sense of bodily soundness.^(RHWU)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}