hygiene

B2 Topic:Actions & Processes

US /ˈhaɪˌd͡ʒiːn/ See IPA manual

Freq #12809

Meanings

1

noun
The practice of keeping yourself and your surroundings clean to stay healthy.

Good hygiene is important when preparing food.
2

noun
Conditions or practices that help keep people healthy and prevent disease.

Poor hygiene in the camp led to the spread of illness.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

2 noun · conditions or practices... hygienics

Word family

Forms hygienic

Derived forms chronohygienecyberhygienehygienichygienicallyhygienicshygienismhygienisthyperhygienistzoohygiene

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

personal hygiene
practices that keep a person's body and clothing clean

Adjective + noun

Simplified etymology

Hygiene comes from Greek hugieinē (tekhnē), meaning “the art of health,” based on hugiēs, “healthy.” It entered English in the late 16th century.

Etymology

From French hygiène, from Ancient Greek ὑγιεινή (τέχνη) (hugieinḗ (tékhnē), literally “art of health”), from ὑγιεινός (hugieinós, “of health, good for the health, wholesome, sound, healthy”), from ὑγιής (hugiḗs, “healthy, sound”).

*gʷeyh₃- Proto-Indo-European hygiène French ὑγιεινή (τέχνη) Ancient Greek

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# hygiene

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈhaɪˌd͡ʒiːn/
**Frequency rank:** 12809

## Meanings
1. The practice of keeping yourself and your surroundings clean to stay healthy.
2. Conditions or practices that help keep people healthy and prevent disease.

## Examples
- Good hygiene is important when preparing food.
- Poor hygiene in the camp led to the spread of illness.

## Derived Forms
- chronohygiene
- cyberhygiene
- hygienic
- hygienically
- hygienics
- hygienism
- hygienist
- hyperhygienist
- zoohygiene

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *gʷeyh₃-
- Root: hygiène
- Root: ὑγιεινή (τέχνη)

## Etymology
From French hygiène, from Ancient Greek ὑγιεινή (τέχνη) (hugieinḗ (tékhnē), literally “art of health”), from ὑγιεινός (hugieinós, “of health, good for the health, wholesome, sound, healthy”), from ὑγιής (hugiḗs, “healthy, sound”).

## AI Etymology
Hygiene comes from French hygiène, from Ancient Greek ὑγιεινή (τέχνη) (hugieinḗ (tékhnē), literally “art of health”), from ὑγιεινός (hugieinós, “of health, good for the health, wholesome, sound, healthy”), from ὑγιής (hugiḗs, “healthy, sound”). The historical line also includes *gʷeyh₃- (Proto-Indo-European). In current use, the main senses are “The practice of keeping yourself and your surroundings clean to stay healthy” and “Conditions or practices that help keep people healthy and prevent disease”.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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