whole en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- [hɒʊ̯ɫ] (Received-Pronunciation)
- [-ɫ̩] (Received-Pronunciation)
- /hoʊl/ (Canada, General-American)
- [hɜʊ̯ɫ] (Received-Pronunciation)
- [-ɫ̩] (Canada, General-American)
- /hwɔːl/ (Early, Modern, rare)
- [hoʊ̯ɫ] (Canada, General-American)
- /həʊl/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- [hoːɫ] (Canada, General-American)
- (General-American) audio
- /hɔl/ (British, Southern, Standard)
- /hɔːl/ (Early, Modern)
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *kéh₂ilos Proto-Germanic *hailaz Proto-West Germanic *hail Old English hāl Middle English hol English whole From Middle English whol, hol, hole (“healthy, unhurt, whole”), from Old English hāl (“healthy, safe”), from Proto-West Germanic *hail, from Proto-Germanic *hailaz (“whole, safe, sound”), from Proto-Indo-European *kéh₂ilos (“healthy, whole”). The spelling with wh-, attested since ca. 1400, represents an excrescent /w/, which developed in words with initial /(h)ɔː/, /(h)oː/ in southwestern dialects of Middle English. While this pronunciation did not establish itself in the standard language (except in one), the spelling survived in whole and whore, in the former case likely reinforced by a desire to disambiguate from hole. Cognates Compare West Frisian hiel, Low German heel/heil, Dutch heel, German heil, Danish and Norwegian Bokmål hel, Norwegian Nynorsk heil; also Welsh coel (“omen”), Breton kel (“omen, mention”), Old Prussian kails (“healthy”), Old Church Slavonic цѣлъ (cělŭ, “healthy, unhurt”). Related to hale, health, hail, hallow, heal, and holy. False cognate of Ancient Greek ὅλος (hólos).
Meanings
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Entire, undivided.
A traveller in 1887 describes the difference between the peoples found when crossing the frontier in the Ichow prefecture. In Kiangsu he had been met by rudeness and obstruction, on his entering Shantung, at the very first village he was received with courtesy and even kindness, and he found the same feelings expressed through the whole province.
1900 February 3 [1900 January 31], “THE STATE OF SHANTUNG.”, in Hongkong Weekly Press, volume L, number 5, sourced from Daily Press, page 71, column 1:Floods in northern India, mostly in the small state of Uttarakhand, have wrought disaster on an enormous scale. The early, intense onset of the monsoon on June 14th swelled rivers, washing away roads, bridges, hotels and even whole villages.
2013 June 29, “High and wet”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8842, page 28:Athelstan Arundel walked home all the way, foaming and raging. […] He walked the whole way, walking through crowds, and under the noses of dray-horses, carriage-horses, and cart-horses, without taking the least notice of them.
1892, Walter Besant, “Prologue: Who is Edmund Gray?”, in The Ivory Gate […], New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], →OCLC, page 16:“[…] She takes the whole thing with desperate seriousness. But the others are all easy and jovial—thinking about the good fare that is soon to be eaten, about the hired fly, about anything.”
1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XVI, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:I ate a whole fish.
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[…]
1661, John Fell, The Life of the most learned, reverend and pious Dr. H. Hammond:
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Entire, undivided. ▸ Used as an intensifier.
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].
2016, Rae Carson, Like a River Glorious, HarperCollins, →ISBN:I brought a whole lot of balloons for the party. She ate a whole bunch of french fries.
I'm thinking, thanks a whole fuck of a lot, Robert. You could have laid that on me weeks ago.
2011, Keith Maillard, Looking Good: Difficulty at the Beginning, Brindle and Glass, →ISBN:
-
Sound, uninjured, healthy.
Here, with one balm for many fevers found, / Whole of an ancient evil, I sleep sound.
1939, Alfred Edward Housman, Additional Poems, X, lines 5-6:He is of whole mind, but the same cannot be said about his physical state.
-
(of food) From which none of its constituents has been removed.
whole wheat; whole milk
- As yet unworked.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| more whole | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic | |
| most whole | Degree=Sup | lexicographic | |
| wholer | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic | |
| hole | alternative, obsolete | lexicographic | |
| wholest | Degree=Sup | lexicographic |
Deriveds
committee of the whole · whole-skinned · whole gale · whole-time · whole language · whole child · whole kit and kaboodle · whole paycheck · swallow whole · on the whole · upon the whole · 20 whole dollars · part-whole bias · whole blood · whole number · one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch · wholewheat · the whole world and his dog · twenty whole dollars · put one's whole pussy into · whole tone · whole package · quadruple whole · whole smash · whole bag of tricks · whole-heartedly · quadruple whole note · go whole hog · whole enchilada · the whole bang shoot · whole gip · whole-heartedness · whole-timer · whole-length · double whole note · go the whole hog · whole shebang · whole lung lavage · whole shitting match · whole shooting match · whole-ass · whole grain · whole plate · whole-souled · whole-wheat · the whole nine yards · go the whole pile · the whole nine miles · out of whole cloth · wholehearted · whole life order · whole-tone scale · the whole world · whole-handedly · whole life tariff · wholesale · wholemeal · wholesaler · a whole nother · whole wide world · upon the whole matter · whole food · whole chebang · whole note · whole-footed · whole-hearted · the whole shop · whole rest · whole cloth · part-whole model · the whole caboodle · whole milk · an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind · with whole skin · whole-gip · whole-life · double whole · whole-genome duplication · wholesome · whole box of tricks · whole snipe · whole boiling · whole step · a whole 'nother · whole-gyp · unwholesome · run the whole show · have one's whole life ahead of one · whole kit and caboodle · whole-grain · Whole Paycheck · whole undern · as a whole · make whole · the whole while · mean the whole world to · whole-life order · heart-whole · whole gyp · smoke the whole pack · whole-blood coagulation time · whole ball of wax · whole hog
Synonyms
all oak and iron bound · overall · healthy · normal · sound · holo- · buxom · total · one · hale · hale · well · complete · overall · entire · fit · in the pink of health · total · sound as a bell · whole · hail · total · whole · hale and hearty · lusty · complete · holo- · sound as a barrel · entire · total · freck · one · well · whole
Translations (146)
fa سراسر (entire) · vi toàn bộ (entire) · nl heel (entire) · fur intîr (entire) · ru весь (entire) · ttj -ona (entire) · ga iomlán (entire) · pon unsek (entire) · it integrale (food with no constituents removed) · no hel (entire) · tg тамом (entire) · ang eall (entire) · sga óg (entire) · sh це̏о (entire) · vec intriego (entire) · sa सर्व (entire) · cu цѣлъ (entire) · rm entir (entire) · fr entier (food with no constituents removed) · non allr (entire) · cmn 整個 /整个 (entire) · grc ὅλος (entire) · ca sencer (entire) · ca sencer (food with no constituents removed) · mi tūtahi (entire) · hy սաղ (entire) · hu teljes (food with no constituents removed) · gl enteiro (entire) · got 𐌰𐌻𐌻𐍃 (entire) · ur سارا (entire) · as আটাই (entire) · fy hiel (entire) · pl pełny (food with no constituents removed) · ar كَامِل (entire) · ms seluruh (entire) · id antero (entire) · sco hail (entire) · bcl bilog (entire) · sq krejt (entire) · bg ця́л (entire) · sk celý (entire) · el ολόκληρος (entire) · ru це́льный (food with no constituents removed) · ca integral (food with no constituents removed) · tr bütün (entire) · fr entier (entire) · ro integral (food with no constituents removed) · sq tërë (entire) · pt inteiro (entire) · nrf entchi (entire) · cs úplný (entire) · sh cȅo (entire) · la integer (entire) · it intero (entire) · csb cały (entire) · fr tout (entire) · da hel (entire) · dlm intric (entire) · tab сагъиб (entire) · pox ganz (entire) · ro întreg (entire) · hu egész (entire) · sw -ote (entire) · es integral (food with no constituents removed) · cy holl (entire) · cmn 全部 (entire) · fi koko (entire) · hu teljes (entire) · ga go léir (entire) · de ganz (entire) · be цэ́лы (entire) · ru це́лый (entire) · es entero (entire) · chr ᎬᏩᏃᏍᏓ (entire) · eu oso (entire) · pl cały (entire) · zlw-ocs cělý (entire) · rup ãntreg (entire) · he תם (entire) · de Voll- (food with no constituents removed) · lt visuminis (entire) · km ទាំងមូល (entire) · rup ntreg (entire) · hy ողջ (entire) · he מלא (food with no constituents removed) · ka სრული (entire) · scn nteru (entire) · sa विश्व (entire) · tr tüm (entire) · uk по́вний (entire) · vec intier (entire) · cy cyfan (entire) · zdj -ontsi (entire) · io tota (entire) · az bütöv (entire) · eo tuta (entire) · gl integral (food with no constituents removed) · sc interu (entire) · ru це́лостный (entire) · ko 전체 (entire) · is allur (entire) · dsb ceły (entire) · ca tot (entire) · tr tam (entire) · sl cel (entire) · ar كُلّ (entire) · la tōtus (entire) · ja 全体の (entire) · cs celý (entire) · fa تمام (entire) · zza pêro (diq) (entire) · sw -zima (entire) · ba бөтөн (entire) · oc entièr (entire) · be по́ўны (entire) · pt integral (food with no constituents removed) · id seluruh (entire) · ka მთლიანი (entire) · os ӕгас (entire) · hi सारा (entire) · ru по́лный (entire) · te మొత్తం (entire) · lez сагъ (entire) · fi kokonainen (entire) · vec intrego (entire) · la universus (entire) · he שלם (entire) · mk цел (entire) · ru це́льный (entire) · vec intiero (entire) · lv vesels (entire) · la cunctus (entire) · hy ամբողջ (entire) · sga imlán (entire) · ka მთელი (entire) · sk úplný (entire) · mi katoa (entire) · lv viss (entire) · el πλήρης (food with no constituents removed) · lld intier (entire) · lld ntier (entire) · vi toàn thể (entire) · sv hel (entire) · av сахаб (entire) · as গোটেই (entire) · uk ці́лий (entire)