English

Etymology

From Middle English helthe, from Old English hǣlþ.

Pronunciation

• enPR: hĕlth, IPA: /hɛlθ/, SAMPA: /hElT/
  • (UK, US) IPA: [hɛɫθ], SAMPA: [hE5T]

     Audio (UK)^{help, file}

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• Rhymes: -ɛlθ

Noun

health (usually uncountable; plural healths)

1. A state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity; wellness.
2. The state of being free of physical or psychological disease, illness, or malfunction.
3. Physical condition.
4. Emotional condition.
5. The overall level of function of an organism from the cellular (micro) level to the social (macro) level.
6. (countable) A toast to prosperity.
   • 2002, Joshua Scodel, Excess and the Mean in Early Modern English Literature‎, page 213:

     Strikingly, however, Waller does not deny but rather revels in the claim that healths lead to excessive drinking

Derived terms

• healthiness
• healthy
• healthcare
• bill of health
• health food

Related terms

• heal

Translations

References

• health in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• health in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911