wholesome

English

Alternative forms

• wholsome (obsolete)

Etymology

From earlier holesome, from Middle English holsom, holsum, helsum, halsum, from Old English *hālsum, *hǣlsum, from Proto-Germanic *hailasamaz, equivalent to whole +‎ -some. Cognate with Dutch heilzaam, Icelandic heilsamur, Norwegian Nynorsk helsesam, Swedish hälsosam (“wholesome”).

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈhoʊlsəm/

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

Adjective

wholesome (comparative wholesomer, superlative wholesomest)

1. Promoting good physical health and well-being.
2. Promoting moral and mental well-being.
   • 1750, Thomas Morell (lyrics), George Frideric Handel (music), “'Theodora'”‎^[1]:

     Though hard, my friends, yet wholesome are the truths, taught in affliction's school, whence the pure soul rises refined, and soars above the world.

3. Favourable to morals, religion or prosperity; sensible; conducive to good; salutary; promoting virtue or being virtuous.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), imprinted at London: By Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981, Proverbs 15:4:

     A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but peruersnesse therein is a breach in the spirit.

4. Marked by wholeness; sound and healthy.

Synonyms

• (promoting health): healthy, healthful, salubrious

Antonyms

• unwholesome

Derived terms

• wholesomely
• wholesomeness

Translations

promoting good health, and well-being

• Danish: sund (da), helsebringende
• Faroese: heilsugóður, heilsugevandi
• Finnish: terveellinen (fi)
• Georgian: ჯანმრთელი (ǯanmrteli), საღი (saɣi)
• German: gesund (de), heilsam (de), gesundheitsfördernd, gesundheitsförderlich
• Irish: folláin
• Italian: salubre (it)

• Maori: whakahauora
• Occitan: san (oc), salubre
• Polish: zdrowy (pl)
• Spanish: saludable (es)
• Turkish: sağlıklı (tr), sıhhatli (tr)

sound and healthy

• Czech: zdravý (cs)
• Finnish: terve (fi)
• French: sain (fr)
• Georgian: ჯანმრთელი (ǯanmrteli), საღი (saɣi)
• German: gesund (de), förderlich (de)
• Hebrew: בריא‎ (he)

• Maori: hauora
• Occitan: san (oc)
• Russian: здоровый (ru) (zdorovyj)
• Spanish: sano (es)
• Turkish: faydalı (tr), yaralı (tr)

promoting virtue or being virtuous

• Dutch: deugdelijk (nl)
• Finnish: hyveellinen, tervehenkinen
• Georgian: კეთილთვისებიანი (ḳetiltvisebiani)
• German: tugendhaft (de), rechtschaffen (de)
• Occitan: vertuós

• Russian: добродетельный (ru) (dobrodetelʹnyj), благонравный (ru) (blagonravnyj)
• Spanish: íntegro (es)
• Turkish: erdemli (tr), faziletli (tr)

References

• wholesome in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
• wholesome in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.