English

health

/ˈhɛlθ/
The state of being free from physical or psychological disease, illness, or malfunction; wellness.

    Etymology graph

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    Origin

    Etymology 1

    Inherited from Middle English helthe, from Old English hǣlþ, from Proto-West Germanic *hailiþu, from Proto-Germanic *hailiþō, from *hailaz + *-iþō. Cognate with Old High German heilida. Analyzable as whole, hale, or heal + -th (abstract nominal suffix). More at heal. Doublet of wholth.

    Etymology 2

    From Middle English heleð (“man, hero, fighter”), from Old English hæleþ (“man, hero, fighter”), from Proto-West Germanic *haliþ, from Proto-Germanic *haliþaz (“man, hero”). Cognate with West Frisian held (“hero”), Dutch held (“hero”), German Held (“hero”), Norwegian Nynorsk hauld (“freeman”).

    From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

    Lineage

    • inheritedMiddle Englishhelthe
      • inheritedOld Englishhǣlþ
        • inheritedProto-West Germanic*hailiþu
    • inheritedMiddle Englishheleð “man, hero, fighter”
      • inheritedOld Englishhæleþ “man, hero, fighter”
        • inheritedProto-West Germanic*haliþ
          • inheritedProto-Germanic*haliþaz “man, hero”

    Related: English wholth (doublet), Old High German heilida, West Frisian held, Dutch held, German Held, Norwegian Nynorsk hauld

    Sources