whole

whole
\ \ [OE] Whole is at the centre of a tightlyknit family of English words descended from prehistoric Germanic *khailazundamaged’ (the other members – hailsalute’, hale, hallow, heal, health, and holy – have have branched off in different semantic directions, but whole has stayed fairly close to its source). The Germanic form, which also produced German heil, Dutch heel, and Swedish and Danish hel, went back to an Indo-European *qoilos, source also of Russian celyjwhole’ and Welsh coelgood omen’. Hale [13] originated as a northern variant of whole (whose wh- spelling emerged in the 16th century). The compound wholesome was probably formed in Old English, but it is not recorded until the 12th century.
\ \ Cf.HAIL, HALE, HALLOW, HEAL, HEALTH, HOLY

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Whole — Whole, a. [OE. hole, hol, hal, hool, AS. h[=a]l well, sound, healthy; akin to OFries. & OS. h?l, D. heel, G. heil, Icel. heill, Sw. hel whole, Dan. heel, Goth. hails well, sound, OIr. c?l augury. Cf. {Hale}, {Hail} to greet, {Heal} to cure,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • whole — [hōl] adj. [ME (Midland) hool, for hol, hal < OE hal, healthy, whole, hale: akin to Ger heil, ON heill < IE base * kailo , sound, uninjured, auspicious > Welsh coel, omen] 1. a) in sound health; not diseased or injured b) Archaic healed …   English World dictionary

  • whole — adj 1 entire, *perfect, intact Analogous words: sound, well, *healthy, robust, wholesome: complete, plenary, *full Contrasted words: *deficient, defective: impaired, damaged, injured, marred (see INJURE) 2 …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • whole — ► ADJECTIVE 1) complete; entire. 2) emphasizing a large extent or number: a whole range of issues. 3) in an unbroken or undamaged state. ► NOUN 1) a thing that is complete in itself. 2) (the whole) all of something …   English terms dictionary

  • Whole — may refer to: *Holism, (from holos, a Greek word meaning all, entire, total) the idea that all the properties of a given system cannot be determined or explained by the sum of its component parts alone * in music, a whole step, or Major second *… …   Wikipedia

  • whole — [adj1] entire, complete accomplished, aggregate, all, choate, completed, concentrated, conclusive, consummate, every, exclusive, exhaustive, fixed, fulfilled, full, full length, gross, inclusive, in one piece, integral, outright, perfect, plenary …   New thesaurus

  • Whole — Whole, n. 1. The entire thing; the entire assemblage of parts; totality; all of a thing, without defect or exception; a thing complete in itself. [1913 Webster] This not the whole of life to live, Nor all of death to die. J. Montgomery. [1913… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • whole — I (undamaged) adjective aggregate, all, complete, entire, gross, intact, solid, total, undiminished, unhurt, unimpaired, unreduced, without loss associated concepts: whole capital, whole estate, whole quantity, whole truth II (unified) adjective… …   Law dictionary

  • whole — hōl adj containing all its natural constituents, components, or elements: deprived of nothing by refining, processing, or separation <whole milk> …   Medical dictionary

  • whole|ly — «HOH lee, HOHL lee», adverb. = wholly. (Cf. ↑wholly) …   Useful english dictionary

  • whole — whole1 W1S1 [həul US houl] adj [: Old English; Origin: hal healthy, unhurt, complete ] 1.) [only before noun] all of something = ↑entire ▪ You have your whole life ahead of you! ▪ His whole attitude bugs me. ▪ We ate the whole cake in about ten… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

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