whole
Entire; complete; not broken or damaged; all of something.
Etymology
From Old English hāl (whole, uninjured, healthy), from Proto-Germanic *hailaz, from PIE *solh₂- (whole, complete, sound). The same root gave the greeting hail, the words heal and health, and holy (originally 'whole, inviolate'). The w- was added in the 15th century by analogy with who and whom, despite having no etymological basis.
The Journey: *solh₂- → whole
*solh₂-
*hailaz
hāl
whole
Cognates Across Languages
These words in other languages descend from the same PIE root *solh₂-. They are not borrowings but independent inheritances from a common ancestor.
| Language | Word |
|---|---|
| Welsh | coel — omen, belief |
| German | heil — whole, healthy |
| Gothic | hails — whole, healthy |
| Old Norse | heill — whole, happy |
Did You Know?
Whole, heal, health, hale, hail, and holy all come from the same root. The w in whole is a 15th-century spelling error that stuck — the word was originally pronounced (and spelled) like hole.
This word descends from the Proto-Indo-European root *solh₂-. See the full root page for descendant trees, sound law references, and scholarly discussion.