whole

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   (of siblings) having the same parents

   whole brothers and sisters

2. 2
   noun

   an assemblage of parts that is regarded as a single entity

   how big is that part compared to the whole?

3. 3
   noun

   all of something including all its component elements or parts

   Europe considered as a whole

4. 4
   adj

   Entire, undivided.

   I ate a whole fish.

5. 5
   adj

   Sound, uninjured, healthy.

   He is of whole mind, but the same cannot be said about his physical state.

6. 6
   adj

   From which none of its constituents has been removed.

   whole wheat; whole milk

7. 7
   adv

   In entirety; entirely; wholly.

   I ate a fish whole!

8. 8
   noun

   Something complete, without any parts missing.

   This variety of fascinating details didn't fall together into an enjoyable, coherent whole.

Etymology

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 desi…