Where does “healthful” come from?
Healthful comes from Middle English helþeful, a derivative formation from the noun health with the productive suffix -ful meaning "full of" or "characterized by."
healthful (English): Beneficial to bodily health; Conducive to moral...
Definitions
- Beneficial to bodily health; Conducive to moral...
Ancestry of “healthful”, step by step
healthful traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
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 |
via Middle English helþful
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | helþful | — |