salutary

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French salutaire and its source, Latin salutaris (“healthful”), from salus (“health”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈsaljʊtəɹi/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈsæljətɛɹi/

Adjective

salutary (comparative more salutary, superlative most salutary)

1. Effecting or designed to effect an improvement; remedial.

   salutary advice

   • 1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “The Chamber of Death”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 268:

     The effect was most salutary; and, amid starts and screams—for the poor girl was fairly frightened out of the small portion of sense that, at any time, belonged to her—they learned that Lord Marchmont had been found dead in his bed; and that Lady Marchmont was, with the shock, in a state of almost insanity!

   • 1972, Michael Chanan, “Logic Lane”, in YouTube‎^[1]:

     We do it here historically, and I think it's, um, very salutary to know quite a bit about the history of ideas, particularly in philosophy which always suffers from a tendency to follow the latest fashion.

   • 2000, Anthony G. Wilhelm, Democracy in the Digital Age: Challenges to Political Life in Cyberspace, Routledge, →ISBN, page 21:

     Using such neofuturists as Nicholas Negroponte to support his argument, Groper argues that “being digital” is constitutive of today’s salutary political life (167).

2. Promoting good health and physical well-being; wholesome; curative.

   Synonyms: healful, healthful, healthy, salubrious

   Antonyms: insalubrious, insalutary

   • 1822, John Barclay, chapter I, in An Inquiry Into the Opinions, Ancient and Modern, Concerning Life and Organization‎^[2], Edinburgh, London: Bell & Bradfute; Waugh & Innes; G. & W. B. Whittaker, section I, page 1:

     In the living state, the body is observed to […] reject what is noxious; to select what is salutary; […]

Usage notes

Not to be confused with salutatory (“characteristic of a salutation or greeting”).

Derived terms

• salutarily
• salutariness

Related terms

English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *solh₂-‎ (0 c, 25 e)

Translations

effecting or designed to effect an improvement; remedial: salutary advice

• Bulgarian: благотворен (bg) (blagotvoren)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 有效益嘅 (jau⁵ haau⁶ jik¹ ge³)

  Mandarin: 有益的 (yǒuyì de), 有幫助的／有帮助的 (yǒu bāngzhù de)

• Finnish: hyödyllinen (fi), terveellinen (fi)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: gavnlig, gagnlig

• Polish: zbawienny (pl)
• Russian: исцеля́ющий (ru) (isceljájuščij), целе́бный (ru) (celébnyj)
• Spanish: saludable (es), revulsivo

promoting good health and physical well-being

• Bulgarian: здравословен (bg) (zdravosloven)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 健康 (zh) (jiànkāng)

• Finnish: terveellinen (fi)
• French: salutaire (fr)
• Italian: salutare (it), benefico (it)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: helsebringende, sunn (no)

• Russian: please add this translation if you can
• Spanish: saludable (es), bueno (es), salutífero (es)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• French: bienfaisant (fr), salutaire (fr)

See also

• medicinal
• salutogenesis

 

Further reading

• “salutary”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “salutary”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “salutary”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.