Summary
The term "healthy" has evolved significantly since its introduction in the late 1400s, originally referring to physical well-being. By the late 1500s, its meaning expanded to include mental and spiritual health, leading to phrases like "healthy mind and body." This linguistic shift allowed "healthy" to describe ample or sizable quantities, as seen in expressions like "a healthy appetite" or "a healthy dose," which can sometimes imply an excess rather than a beneficial amount.
The concept of wellness has similarly transformed over the centuries. Initially used in the 1600s to denote a state of good health, the term gained prominence in the 1950s, emphasizing a holistic approach to health encompassing physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. Influential figures like Halbert L. Dunn, associated with the CDC, helped popularize wellness programs during this period. By the late 20th century, the term became widely accepted, even as early as 1988 when a dictionary usage panel noted a significant shift in its acceptance.
Show Notes
We can be healthy and eating an apple seems clearly healthy, and then there’s the healthy dose of salt, which may not be healthy at all.
More from That's What They Say
If you know how the sound ‘f’ worked in Old English, it suddenly isn’t mysterious why the noun "leaf" with an "f" turns into "leaves" with a "v" when you make it plural
If I say I’m gonna do it, I don’t necessarily mean I’m headed out the door right now to do it.
The New York Times announced that the Merriam-Webster Dictionary “is wordsmaxxing” and NBC News described it as a “glow-up” of the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.
Concerns about redundancy are back this week. It's the exact same thing we’ve talked about before, but this time about the expression "exact same."
This may be one of the only times that throw pillows, golf, and curling all get wrapped into the same discussion.