Where does “whole” come from?
Whole comes from Middle English hole, from Old English hol, from Old English helan meaning "to conceal," though the ultimate origin remains uncertain.
whole (English): Entire, undivided; Sound, uninjured, healthy;...
Definitions
- Entire, undivided; Sound, uninjured, healthy;...
Ancestry of “whole”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | hol | hollow, empty; concave, sunken; holey |
| 2 | Old English | hol | a hole, a hollow; calumny; slander |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | hol | hollow; hole |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | hulą | a hollow; depression; hole |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | hulaz | hollow |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱel- | to cover; to incline |
Words derived from “whole”