gesundheit en · INTJ
Pronunciation
- /ɡəˈzʊn.taɪt/ (General-American, Received-Pronunciation)
- /ɡəˈzʊnt.haɪt/ (General-American, Received-Pronunciation)
- /ɡəˈzʊnt.hʌɪt/ Canada, many US accents
- /ɡəˈzʊn.tʌɪt/ Canada, many US accents
- /ɡəˈzʊnd.hʌɪt/ Canada, many US accents
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from German Gesundheit (literally “health”), from gesund (“healthy”). The adjective is cognate with English sound, from Old English ġesund (“sound, safe, healthy”).
Meanings
-
(Canada, US) Said to someone who has just sneezed.
I used to play a game with David and Douggie, Dennis and Drew — stop their sneezes midsniff just by placing my pinkie finger against their nostrils and saying gesundheit before it was time.
2000, Abby Frucht, Polly's Ghost: A Novel (Fiction), Scribner, →ISBN, page 55:Everybody Was at It, and There Was No One to Say Gesundheit
1897 July 24, “SNEEZES INTERRUPTED COURT”, in The Albany Law Journal, volume 56, number 4, page 67:
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(humorous) Said in response to a word that sounds onomatopoeically similar to a sneeze.
Flynn: All right, Blondie. Rapunzel: Rapunzel! Flynn: Gesundheit.
2010 November 14, Dan Fogelman, directed by Nathan Greno and Byron Howard, Tangled, Walt Disney Pictures:
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(dated) Used as a toast
Gesundheit, grandpa
1906, Rainier Beer advertisement:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gesundheit | alternative | lexicographic | |
| gezuntheit | alternative | lexicographic |