Wholesome

How to spell wholesome

9 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce wholesome

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does wholesome mean?

1. adjectiveGood for one's health, character, or general well-being; morally sound and beneficial.

Wholesome in a sentence

• The canteen now serves more wholesome meals with fresh vegetables.

• They wanted a wholesome environment in which to raise their children.

Where does wholesome come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This word reaches back to Old English and is thoroughly Germanic in character. Its first element is 'whole', from the Old English 'hal', which meant sound, healthy, or uninjured; the very same root gives us 'hale' (as in 'hale and hearty'), 'heal', and 'health', all bound up with the idea of being unbroken and well. The 'w' at the front is a later spelling addition that crept in during the fifteenth century, so the silent letter is historically an intruder rather than an original sound. The suffix '-some' is an old native ending meaning 'tending to produce' or 'characterised by', the same one seen in 'tiresome' and 'troublesome'. Put together in Middle English, 'wholesome' first described whatever was good for the body or conducive to health, and only later broadened to mean morally beneficial or decent. Remembering that it simply means 'whole' plus '-some' is the surest way to keep that easily dropped silent 'w'.

How the word is built

• whole (sound, healthy, complete)
• -some (adjective suffix: tending to produce or characterised by)