wholesome
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English[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
Etymology[edit]
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[edit]
Adjective[edit]
wholesome (comparative wholesomer, superlative wholesomest)
- Promoting good physical health and well-being.
- c. 1590–1592, William Shakespeare, “The Taming of the Shrew”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act IV, scene iii], page 223, column 2:
- I prethee go, and get me ſome repaſt, / I care not what, ſo it be holſome foode.
- 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.
- Favourable to morals, religion or prosperity; sensible; conducive to good; salutary; promoting virtue or being virtuous.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981, Proverbs 15:4, column 1:
- A wholeſome tongue is a tree of life: but peruerſneſſe therein is a breach in the ſpirit.
- Marked by wholeness; sound and healthy.
- Decent, innocuous, sweet.
- 2019, Gretchen McCulloch, Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language, Riverhead Books, →ISBN:
- Around the same time, “wholesome” memes of cute doggos and puppers rejuvenated social media feeds that seemed daily filled with fresh horrors.
- 2020 February 3, Kaitlyn Tiffany, “The Misogynistic Joke That Became a Goth-Meme Fairy Tale”, in The Atlantic[2]:
- The comment section on a recent post making fun of a “cute” and “wholesome” Doomer Girl meme is mixed.
Synonyms[edit]
- (promoting health): healthy, healthful, salubrious
Antonyms[edit]
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
promoting good health, and well-being
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sound and healthy
promoting virtue or being virtuous
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References[edit]
- “wholesome” in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
- “wholesome” in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
Categories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms inherited from Old English
- English terms derived from Old English
- English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- English adjectives suffixed with -some
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- English lemmas
- English adjectives
- English terms with quotations