Where does “healthcare” come from?
Healthcare derives from Middle English care and Old English hǣlþ, which traces through Proto-Germanic haliþaz to Proto-Indo-European ǵeh₂r-, meaning to grasp or hold.
healthcare (English): Alternative spelling of health care
Definitions
- Alternative spelling of health care
Ancestry of “healthcare”, step by step
healthcare traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English care
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | care | Grief, sorrow; Close attention; concern;... |
| 2 | Middle English | care | grief; sorrow |
| 3 | Old English | caru | worry, anxiety, care; sorrow, grief |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | karu | care, worry |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | karō | complaint, lament, grievance, moan; worry,... |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵeh₂r- | to shout, cry; exclamation; voice; to call, cry |
via English health
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | health | The state of being free from physical or... |
| 2 | Middle English | helþe | soundness; health; recovery |
| 3 | Old English | hǣlþ | — |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | hailiþō | wholeness, health |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | hailaz | whole, unbroken, intact; entire, complete; hale,... |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | *kéh₂ilos | healthy |