# Health, healthy, heal



## ThomasK

I just found out that zdravka (or ...) is something like "to live" and "(to be) healthy". So I'd like to hear more about the root you use and some of the derivations.

English : *to heal, health, healthy* - that seems quite easy and clear.

More interesting perhaps is that "*whole*" has the same root. "Heal" seems to mean: "to make whole"..


----------



## ThomasK

Dutch:
- *genezen/ helen, gezondheid, gezond*

So you can see three different roots:
- "gezond" has the same root as "*sound*" (as in "safe and sound")
- "genezen" based on *oe. *_*genesan* _(which I do not know), from pgm._ *ga-nésan- _The original meaning is supposed to be: feed, maintain, save, protect, ...
- "helen" refers to "*heal*" of course (we also have "heel/ geheel", an adjective meaning : whole)


----------



## apmoy70

Greek:

Health: *«Υγεία»* [iˈʝi.a] (fem.) < Classical fem. noun *«ὑγιείᾱ» hŭgĭeíā* (Ionic *«ὑγιείη» hŭgĭeíē*) --> _health_ (PIE *h₂iu- _span of life, vital force_ cf Skt. आयु (āyu), _lifetime_, Lat. ævum + PIE *gʷih₃- _to live_ cf Arm. կեալ (keal), _to live_).
Healthy: Adj. *«υγιής, -ής, -ές»* [iʝiˈis] (masc. & fem.), [iʝiˈes] (neut.) < Classical adj. *«ὑγιής, -ής, -ές» hŭgiḗs* (masc. & fem.), *hŭgiés* (neut.).
To heal: *«Θεραπεύω»* [θeɾaˈpevo] < Classical denominative v. *«θεραπεύω» tʰĕrăpeúō* --> _to serve, honour, care for, heal_ < Classical nominal *«θεράπων» tʰĕrápōn* (masc.), *«θεράπαινᾱ» tʰĕrápainā* (fem.) --> (masc.) _attendant, male servant, companion, _(fem.)_ maid, female servant_ (with obscure etymology).
In ancient Greek existed also the v. *«ὑγιάζω» hŭgĭázō* --> _to make sound, make healthy, heal, cure_ (which hasn't survived in MoGr).
A common mediaeval greeting was *«ὑγίαινε» ygíaine* (2nd p. sing. active voice present imperative), *«ὑγιαίνετε» ygiaínete* (2nd p. pl. active voice imperative) --> _(you) remain healthy_ < Byz.Gr. v. *«ὑγιαίνω» ygiaínō* --> (intr.) _to become healthy, remain healthy_, (trans.) _to make healthy_ > MoGr rustic aphetic v. (obsolete now) *«γιάνω»* [ˈʝano].


----------



## ThomasK

I suppose that is the same root as the word 'hygiene'. But so you have a new verb (which we know well of course) for healing part. Thanks again!


----------



## ger4

ThomasK said:


> Dutch:
> - *genezen/ helen, gezondheid, gezond *


German: 
_*genesen* / heilen**, Gesundheit, gesund *_

* intransitive
** transitive or intransitive


----------



## 810senior

Nothing to do with direct etymology, in Japanese.

Health　健康kenkou
Healthy 健やかなsukoyakana, 健康なkenkouna
To heal　癒やすiyasu, 治すnaosu


----------



## Gavril

English also has the now-archaic-sounding adjective _*hale*_, from the same root as the verb _heal._ _hale_ is similar in meaning to _healthy_, but maybe a little bit stronger: according to one dictionary, it means "free from disease or infirmity; robust; vigorous".

The pair of _healthy_ and _hale_ is similar semantically to the Icelandic adjectives _*heilbrigður* "_healthy_" _and_ *hraustur* "_(robustly) healthy, vigorous".


----------



## luitzen

In Dutch, what one would often actually say for healing is _(weer) beter worden_ (to become better (again)). In this case healing is seen as returning to an old (better) state. In this sense, it is maybe similar to healing where one is becoming whole (again).

In West Frisian:
to heal: (wer) better wurde, (wer) sûn wurde, genêzje, hielje
health: sûnens
healthy: sûn

I would like to point out that gezond has the same root as in (being) sound, not as sound (noise).



> "genezen" based on *oe. genesan*


Strictly, this is not correct. Both words share the same origin, but one is not based on the other.

Another funny coincidence is that when somebody is not healthy, when somebody is sick, you could say _heal wêze._ Even though _heal_ looks similar to English _heal_ it is actually pronounced as /hI.əl/ and it's meaning is _half._ The meaning of the expression is _to be half_ which is, again, in direct opposition to whole.

And of course Dutch _helen _sounds the same as _heel _(whole) and Frisian _hielje _sounds the same as _hiel _(whole). _hiel_ is pronounced the exact same way as English _heal_.


----------



## ThomasK

I agree: I was too quick when saying "based on". As for "sound", I referred to "safe and sound", so it was clear, I thought, that I was not referring to noise...

As for the "beter worden": I know that it is common in the Netherlands, but I'd prefer not to call it a synonym. Certainly in Flanders I really want to "genezen", not just "beter worden". The latter is not a real recovery in my view, but it might be in the Netherlands.

The _heal wêze_ is interesting. It reminds me of 'whole'.


----------



## luitzen

I would say that, at least in the Netherlands, _(weer) beter worden _means full recovery.

When you buy a card for someone who's in the hospital (except for terminal illnesses), it will say _van harte beterschap _(betterness from the hart). The act of wishing somebody to heal is called _beterschap toewensen_ (to wish betterness to somebody). When your 12 year old nephew is in the hospital with a broken leg you might call him and tell him _wordt maar weer gauw beter _(just become better again quickly). When you write your friends on the phone you're not going out tonight because you have a cold, they might just write back _beterschap_ (betterness).

In each of these cases, forms with genezen, gezond en gezondheid would be quite uncommon and in most cases also weird.


----------



## mataripis

To heal in Tagalog is gamutin, pagalingin, umige. Health is kalusugan,kalagayan. Healthy is malusog, maige,magaling


----------



## ThomasK

3 synonyms for healing and 'healthy' then. Are there links between those words? (maige/ umge, magalin/pagalingin? Does kal- have a meaning or is it a prefix?)


----------



## mataripis

Ka in kalusugan is a prefix. He has good health- maayos ang kalusugan niya. * he is healthy- malusog siya.The word ige (ok,fine,in good condition) is the root word for maige (good,fine) and umige ( become healed or good). Galing ( with multiple meanings is recover in this case) magaling ( good,fine) and pagalingin ( apply theraphy or aids).gamut (drug, therapy) is common in everyday use in all Filipinos.It(gamutin) has same meaning with Paigihin and Pagalingin.


----------



## ThomasK

I noticed that Portuguese just needs two roots:
- heal,: *curar, *
- health: *saúde*
- healthy: *saudável

Italian// French:  *
- *guarire // guérir
- salute // santé (?)
- sano // sain* (not so often used, I believe; more like: en bonne santé)


----------



## Dymn

ThomasK said:


> I noticed that Portuguese just needs two roots:
> - heal,: *curar, *
> - health: *saúde*
> - healthy: *saudável*


I don't know about Portuguese, but in Catalan and Spanish there's a difference between _saludable _and _sa _(ca) / _sano _(es). The first one is used for what leads to health (diets, habits...) while the second is for people with a good health. However it is not uncommon to swap their meanings.

As for the topic of the thread:

Catalan:
- heal: _curar _(and less commonly _guarir, sanar_)
- health: _salut _(and less commonly _sanitat*_)
- healthy: _sa, saludable_

Spanish:
- heal: _curar _(and less commonly _sanar_)
- health: _salud _(and less commonly _sanidad*_)
- healthy: _sano, saludable

* Salut/salud _is normally used for the state of being healthy, _sanitat/sanidad _for all the services whose goal is to heal people (as in "Ministry of Health").


----------



## Armas

Finnish

to heal (transitive) = *parantaa*, this also means "to improve, better"; *tervehdyttää* (more commonly used in metaphorical sense, e.g. to "heal" the economy)
to heal (intransitive) = *parantua*, this also means "to improve, better"; *tervehtyä* (often wounds and people too, but still less common than _parantua_)
health = *terveys*
healthy = *terve* (enjoying health: "healthy baby");* terveellinen* (conducive to health: "healthy food")


----------



## ThomasK

Just wondering: is there a root in _terve/ys/_... that is used in "non-healthy" contexts (like _heal // whole_)?


----------



## Gavril

ThomasK said:


> Just wondering: is there a root in _terve/ys/_... that is used in "non-healthy" contexts (like _heal // whole_)?



The word _heal_ is a "healthy" context, as far as I can see. By "non-healthy", do you mean words that refer to wholeness/completeness but don't have to do specifically with health?


----------



## AutumnOwl

Swedish:
Heal - _bota_, there is also _hela_, but today it's only used when talking about religious healing, as in laying hands on a sick person. _Hela_ is related to whole, the word _hel_ means whole.
Health - _hälsa_.
Healthy - _frisk_, an old word is _kry_, when talking about a person being healthy. There is also _hälsosam_, as in _en hälsosam livsstil _- a healty lifestyle.


----------



## ThomasK

Gavril said:


> The word _heal_ is a "healthy" context, as far as I can see. By "non-healthy", do you mean words that refer to wholeness/completeness but don't have to do specifically with health?


Even broader: _health/ helen_ has the same root as _heel/whole. _I'd like to know if this _terv.. _has some other root with a broader meaning. I had a look at my  small dictionary, but there is only "terva", tar.. That is a natural product, "the pitch of (certain) trees", I read, and the word is based on PIE. *derw- (tree, wood)... Could that be a link?



AutumnOwl said:


> Swedish:
> Heal - _bota_, there is also _hela_, but today it's only used when talking about religious healing, as in laying hands on a sick person. _Hela_ is related to whole, the word _hel_ means whole.
> Health - _hälsa_.
> Healthy - _frisk_, an old word is _kry_, when talking about a person being healthy. There is also _hälsosam_, as in _en hälsosam livsstil _- a healty lifestyle.


I could imagine the /hel/ refers to 'whole', but then _bota_ and _frisk_? To 'fresh'?


----------



## ger4

Armas said:


> Finnish
> 
> to heal (transitive) = *parantaa*, this also means "to improve, better"; *tervehdyttää* (more commonly used in metaphorical sense, e.g. to "heal" the economy)
> to heal (intransitive) = *parantua*, this also means "to improve, better"; *tervehtyä* (often wounds and people too, but still less common than _parantua_)
> health = *terveys*
> healthy = *terve* (enjoying health: "healthy baby");* terveellinen* (conducive to health: "healthy food")


Estonian

- to heal (transitive): _*parandama*_ (basically 'to improve'); to heal a wound: _haavu_ _parandama_ (_haavu_ < _haav_ 'wound')
- to heal (intransitive): _*paranema; *_to let the wound heal: _haaval_ _paraneda_ _laskma_ (_haaval_ < _haav_ 'wound' + _paraneda_ < _paranema_ + _laskma_ 'to let'); to recover from an illness: _haigustest paranema (haigustest < haigus '_illness_) _
- health: _*tervis*_*
- healthy: _*terve*_*; also used metaphorically - a healthy economy: _terve_ _majandus_
- healthy (beneficial for your health): _*tervislik*_*; healthy food: _tervislik_ _toit_
- whole (adjective): _*terve*_* (only in some contexts); the whole year, year-long: _terve aasta kestev_ (_aasta_ 'year', _kestev_ 'ongoing')
- whole (noun): _*tervik*_*; to form a whole: _tervikut_ _moodustama (tervikut < tervik _+ _moodustama_ 'to constitute')
- Hello, hi, good... (in greetings): _*Tere*_*!
Good morning! _Tere hommikust_!

* According to Wiktionary,  derived from Proto-Finnic *_terveh_

---
Edit: In #5 I forgot to mention that 'to recover from an illness' is often translated as _gesund werden_ (lit. 'to become healthy'). The other verb, _genesen_, is used in formal contexts only.


----------



## ThomasK

So 'whole' again! Thanks !


----------



## AutumnOwl

ThomasK said:


> but then _bota_ and _frisk_? To 'fresh'?


_Bota_ - cure
Yes, _frisk_ have to do with fresh, we can also talk about _friska vindar_ - fresh/brisk winds.


----------



## Armas

I can't think of any "non-healthy" context where _terve_- can be seen, other than perhaps _tervehtiä_ "to greet", but it obviously comes from the greeting _Terve!_ so in fact it is a "healthy" context too.
I believe Indo-Iranian origin of _terve_ (cf. Avestan _drva_ "healthy") is considered more likely than relation to _terva_ "tar".


----------



## ThomasK

@Armas: You might be right with regard to the origin 'terve', and then there might be a link with Slavic *'zdravk'*-words, I suppose. And I had found that connection with the greeting in my little dictionary.
@AutumnOwl : as for *bota, *could there be a connection with the word 'better' and PIE *_bhad_ (good)?


----------



## AutumnOwl

ThomasK said:


> @AutumnOwl : as for *bota, *could there be a connection with the word 'better' and PIE *_bhad_ (good)?


It's connected with better, but not as far as I know, _bôta_ seems to be the Gothic word, to make better.


----------



## Gavril

ThomasK said:


> @Armas: You might be right with regard to the origin 'terve', and then there might be a link with Slavic *'zdravk'*-words, I suppose.



I think that the root is indeed *_drav_-. _z_- (< _*s_-) is a prefix meaning "with, together". The -_k- _is a suffix, not present in the basic adjective: Slovene _zdrav_, Russian _zdorovyj, _Polish_ zdrowy _(etc.) "healthy".

Armenian* առողջ *(_arroghdž_) "healthy" seems to be a compound of առ*-, *with meanings like "before, prior" (cf. *առաջ* "in front of"), plus ողջ meaning "whole", a cognate of Greek _holos_ "whole", Latin _salvus_, etc.


----------



## apmoy70

ThomasK said:


> I just found out that zdravka (or ...) is something like "to live" and "(to be) healthy". So I'd like to hear more about the root you use and some of the derivations.
> 
> English : *to heal, health, healthy* - that seems quite easy and clear.
> 
> More interesting perhaps is that "*whole*" has the same root. "Heal" seems to mean: "to make whole"..


Well, the most common greeting for ancient Greeks was the interjection *«οὗλε!» hoûlĕ!* --> lit. _be whole_, as a greeting _be sound, healthy_ < Ionic var. adj. *«οὗλος» hoûlŏs* of Classical adj. *«ὅλος, -λη, -λον» hólŏs* (masc.), *hólē* (fem.), *hólŏn* (neut.) -->_whole, complete_ (PIE *sol(H)-uo- _whole_ cf Skt. सर्व (sarva), _whole_, Av. hauruua, _whole_, Lat. salvus, _sound, safe_).


----------



## ThomasK

Interesting. Some people have suggested that "hallo"/ "hello" might be linked with "whole", but I cannot find that corroborated.


----------



## luitzen

ThomasK said:


> Interesting. Some people have suggested that "hallo"/ "hello" might be linked with "whole", but I cannot find that corroborated.


I think the reason for that is the idea that hello/hallo is derived from hail/eala which was used in the past as a greeting in English and Frisian (and maybe still is).

I'm not sure exactly what the origin of this is and even Wiktionary is contradictory.
Here: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/eala
- eala is from he + la
- hallo/hello is from eala​Here: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hello
- Hello is ultimately derived from a form of Old English eala
- Possibly influence from hail​Here: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hail#Etymology_2
- from Proto-Germanic *hailijaną​


----------



## ThomasK

INteresting, thanks.

@810senior: could you analyse your words further, like this /kenkoa/?


----------



## 810senior

@ThomasK, 健康(ken-kou): _ken _means soundness, health; _and _kou easiness, calm, peace of mind. the combination of both somewhat may resemble an English phrase _safe and sound_.


----------



## ThomasK

I see!

I thought the Armenian word had no link with the others referring to "whole" but things "together" do make a whole, I guess...


----------

