hale

Definition

Sound, entire, healthy; robust, not impaired.

Etymology

From Northern Middle English hal, hale, variants of hole (“healthy; safe; whole”) (whence whole), from Old English hāl, from Proto-West Germanic *hail, from Proto-Germanic *hailaz (“whole; entire; healthy”). See whole for more.

Example Sentences

• "His stomach too begins to fail: / Last year we thought him strong and hale; / But now he's quite another thing: / I wish he may hold out till spring!"
• ""Good morrow to thee, jolly fellow," quoth Robin, "thou seemest happy this merry morn." / "Ay, that am I," quoth the jolly Butcher, "and why should I not be so? Am I not hale in wind and limb? Have I not the bonniest lass in all Nottinghamshire? And lastly, am I not to be married to her on Thursday next in sweet Locksley Town?""