wholesome
UK /ˈhəʊl.səm/ · US /ˈhoʊl.səm/ adjective
Forms wholesomer wholesomest holesom holesome wholsom wholsome
- adjective Promoting good physical health and well-being.
- adjective Promoting moral and mental well-being.
- adjective Favorable to morals, religion or prosperity; sensible; conducive to good; salutary; promoting virtue or being virtuous.
- adjective Marked by wholeness; sound and healthy.
- adjective Decent; innocuous; sweet.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Etymology
From earlier holesome, from Middle English holsom, holsum, helsum, halsum, from Old English *hālsum, *hǣlsum, from Proto-West Germanic *hailasam, from Proto-Germanic *hailasamaz, equivalent to whole + -some or hale (“healthy”) + -some. Cognate with Saterland Frisian heelsoam, Dutch heilzaam, German Low German heelsaam, German heilsam, Icelandic heilsamur, Norwegian Nynorsk helsesam, Swedish hälsosam (“wholesome”).
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Tending to promote health; favoring health; salubrious; salutary.
- adjective Contributing to the health of the mind; favorable to morals, religion, or prosperity; conducive to good; salutary; sound; as, wholesome advice; wholesome doctrines; wholesome truths; wholesome laws.
Etymology [Whole + some; cf. Icel. heilsamr, G. heilsam, D. heilzaam.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “wholesome”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details