Gesundheit

See also gesundheit

German

Wikipedia ^de

Etymology

Primarily from German gesund, "sound (cognate with); healthy; unharmed" which itself is from Old High German gisunt, which is the earliest German source of the post-sneezing interjection; ultimately stemming from a term evolved from the from Proto-Germanic *sundaz, from root Proto-Indo-European *swen-to- (compare English sound [adj], "healthy, safe, unharmed"; Old English gesund "sound, safe, healthy"; Old Saxon gisund, Old Frisian sund, Dutch gezond, Swedish sund, healthy; also Old English swið "strong", Gothic 𐍃𐍅𐌹𐌽𐌸 (swinþ, “strong”); German geschwind "fast, quick"), with connections in Indo-Iranian and Balto-Slavic.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɡəˈzʊntˌhaɪ̯t/

• audio

  (file)

Noun

Gesundheit f. (genitive Gesundheit, no plural)

1. health; soundness (sound being adjectival)

Interjection

Gesundheit!

1. said to somebody who has sneezed, bless you.

Related terms

• auf ihre Gesundheit (“to your health”)

See also

• Dutch: gezondheid
• English: gesundheit, sound