different between whole vs healful

English

Alternative forms

• hole (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English hole (“healthy, unhurt, whole”), from Old English h?l (“healthy, safe”), from Proto-Germanic *hailaz (“whole, safe, sound”) (compare West Frisian hiel, Low German heel/heil, Dutch heel, German heil, Danish and Norwegian Bokmål hel, Norwegian Nynorsk heil), from Proto-Indo-European *kóylos (“healthy, whole”). Compare Welsh coel (“omen”), Breton kel (“omen, mention”), Old Prussian kails (“healthy”), Old Church Slavonic ???? (c?l?, “healthy, unhurt”). Related to hale, health, hail, hallow, heal, and holy.

The spelling with wh-, introduced in the 15th century, was for disambiguation with hole, and was absent in Scots.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /h??l/, [h???], [h???]
• (US) IPA^(key): /ho?l/, [ho??]
• Homophone: hole
• Rhymes: -??l

Adjective

whole (comparative wholer or more whole, superlative wholest or most whole)

1. Entire, undivided.

   Synonyms: total; see also Thesaurus:entire

   • 1661, John Fell, The Life of the most learned, reverend and pious Dr. H. Hammond

     During the whole time of his abode in the university he generally spent thirteen hours of the day in study; by which assiduity besides an exact dispatch of the whole course of philosophy, he read over in a manner all classic authors that are extant […]
   1. Used as an intensifier.

      I brought a whole lot of balloons for the party.   She ate a whole bunch of french fries.

      • 2016, Rae Carson, Like a River Glorious, HarperCollins (?ISBN):

        There, a huge blue heron stands sentry like a statue, eye on the surface, waiting for his next meal to wriggle by. A lone grassy hill overlooks it all, well above the flood line, big enough to pitch a whole mess of tents [on].

      • 2011, Keith Maillard, Looking Good: Difficulty at the Beginning, Brindle and Glass (?ISBN):

        I'm thinking, thanks a whole fuck of a lot, Robert. You could have laid that on me weeks ago.

2. Sound, uninjured, healthy.

   Synonyms: hale, well; see also Thesaurus:healthy

   • 1939, Alfred Edward Housman, Additional Poems, X, lines 5-6

     Here, with one balm for many fevers found, / Whole of an ancient evil, I sleep sound.

3. (of food) From which none of its constituents has been removed.

4. (mining) As yet unworked.

Translations

Adverb

whole (comparative more whole, superlative most whole)

1. (colloquial) In entirety; entirely; wholly.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:completely

Translations

Noun

whole (plural wholes)

1. Something complete, without any parts missing.

   Synonyms: entireness, totality; see also Thesaurus:entirety

   Meronym: part

2. An entirety.

Translations

Derived terms

Further reading

• All and whole — Linguapress online English grammar

References

• whole at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• Howle, howel

English

Etymology

From Middle English heeleful, heleful, equivalent to heal (“health, well-being”) +? -ful. Compare healless.

Adjective

healful (comparative more healful, superlative most healful)

1. Tending or serving to heal; health-promoting; healing.

   healful remedies

   • 2008, Bernardo N. De Luca, Mind-Body and Relaxation Research Focus

     As for psychogenic death, this will be the case when three supplementary, in this case, healful conditions are fulfilled: […]

2. Full of health or safety; healthy; whole; sound; safe.
   • 1913, Samuel Gompers, John McBride, William Green, The American federationist

     The public conscience demands that they work under healful conditions, with ample light, without overspceding, and with the same provisions for their safety at their work that the employer would desire for himself were he so employed.

   • 1957, Ray C. Petry, Late medieval mysticism

     And, therefore, what is more healful than the sweetness of this sight, or what softer thing may be felt?

3. Affording health or salvation.
   • 1844, John Foxe, George Townsend, The acts and monuments of John Foxe

     […] since Christ will not fail to minister, himself, all lawful and healful sacraments, and necessary at all time, and especially at the end, […]