hygiene English · revision 39562

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=late 16th century, in Latin and Greek forms|origins=grc ὑγιής}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈhaɪˌd͡ʒiːn/, /haɪˈd͡ʒiːn/^(Wiktionary)

+ * UK: /ˈhʌɪˌd͡ʒiːn/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|fr|hygiène]],^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MWU 2024) and partly [[la-new|hygieina]],^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)^(AHD 2024) from [[grc|ὑγιεινή|tr=hugieinḗ]], short for [[m|grc|ὑγιεινὴ τέχνη|tr=hugieinḗ tékhnē|t=the healthful art]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995)^(AHD 2024) the feminine of [[m|grc|ὑγιεινός|tr=hugieinós|t=healthful]],^(AHD 2024)^(Ayto 2005) from [[m|grc|ὑγιής|tr=hugiḗs|t=healthy, sound]].^(Etymonline)^(Klein 1966)^(Weekley 1921) In French the word is found in the 16th century as [[m|frm|hygiaine]] in Ambroise Paré, and in the Académie's dictionary in 1762.^(OED 2026) Aristotle had used the Greek adjective as a noun meaning "health".^(Etymonline)^(Klein 1966) Barnhart's full edition, Klein and Hoad explain ''hugiḗs'' as "living well", from a prefix meaning "well" and a root meaning "to live",^(Barnhart 1988)^(Klein 1966)^(Hoad 1986) whereas Etymonline and the American Heritage Dictionary connect it with the root [[ine-pro|*aiw-|t=vital force, life]].^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2024) Etymonline describes the awkward English spelling as a relic of the struggle to render the Greek vowels in French.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The branch of knowledge concerned with keeping healthy: the Shorter Oxford dates the word to the late 16th century, when it was used in its Latin and Greek forms,^(SOED 2002)^(ODE 2010) and Dictionary.com gives 1590–1600.^(Dictionary.com 2016) Barnhart and Merriam-Webster date ''hygiene'' to 1671 and Etymonline to the 1670s,^(Barnhart 1995)^(MWU 2024)^(Etymonline) while the OED's first quotation, in an entry not revised since 1899, is from 1799, in Robert Southey's ''Letters from Spain''.^(OED 2026) Hoad gives the 19th century.^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The OED's definition is the knowledge or practice of maintaining health, and a system of rules for it, including sanitary science.^(OED 2026) From the science the word passed to the conditions and practices that keep people healthy,^(MWU 2024)^(SOED 2002) and above all to cleanliness, as in ''personal hygiene''.^(Collins 2023) Collins now records a further extension to practices that keep any environment safe and secure, such as computer systems.^(Collins 2023) The adjective [[hygienic]] followed in 1833.^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * late 16th century – the science of health, in Latin and Greek forms;^(SOED 2002) 1590–1600 in Dictionary.com.^(Dictionary.com 2016)

+ * 1671 – ''hygiene'';^(Barnhart 1995)^(MWU 2024) the 1670s in Etymonline.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1799 – first quotation in the OED.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1833 – ''hygienic''.^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The [[science]] that deals with keeping [[health]].^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # Practices and conditions that keep people healthy, especially [[cleanliness]]: ''Good kitchen hygiene stops food poisoning.''^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)^(SOED 2002)

+ # Practices that keep a system or environment safe and in good order: ''password hygiene''.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[hygienist]]

+ * [[hygienic]]

+ * [[hygienics]]

+ * [[oral hygiene]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}