solh₂-
“whole, complete, sound”solid, solemn, consolidate, soldier
Root yielding Latin solidus/sollemnis, English solid, solemn, consolidate, soldier.
Discussion
The Proto-Indo-European root *solh₂- meant "whole, complete, entire" and produced an impressive range of descendants that cluster around concepts of wholeness, safety, health, and preservation. The laryngeal *h₂ affected the vowel quality and is responsible for the a-colouring visible in certain Latin forms.
In Germanic, the root produced Old English hāl "whole, healthy, uninjured", the ancestor of modern English whole (the w- was added in the fifteenth century by analogy with who and whom, though it was never pronounced). The same Old English word also gave rise to hale (as in "hale and hearty"), heal, and health — all fundamentally about restoring wholeness. The greeting hail and the word holy (that which is "whole" or "sacred") are further derivatives.
Latin salvus "safe, uninjured, whole" is the key reflex for learned English vocabulary: safe (via Old French sauf from salvus), salvation, salute, salvage, and salvo all descend from this form. The Latin adjective solidus "firm, whole, complete" (a derivative of the same root) gave English solid, solder, and — remarkably — soldier, which originally meant "one who serves for pay" (from solidus, a Roman gold coin, so called because it was "solid" or complete). The English word sole meaning "single, only" also connects here, as does the word salute, originally a wish for someone's health and safety.
Greek holos "whole, entire" (with regular loss of initial *s-) produced English holistic, hologram, and catholic (literally "relating to the whole"). Sanskrit sárva- "whole, entire" is a further cognate.
The semantic web radiating from *solh₂- — wholeness, health, safety, sacredness, solidity, and even military service — demonstrates how a single Proto-Indo-European concept could fracture into seemingly unrelated modern meanings while retaining a hidden unity.
Related Roots
English Words from *solh₂-
These modern English words descend from this root. Each page traces the full journey from PIE to present-day English.