DictionaryRoot: hælan
Old English

hælan

to cure; make whole

1 / 1
A nurse gently removes a bandage from a child’s knee where fresh healthy skin has closed over the old scrape.
verb

heal

HEEL/hiːl/

To restore damaged tissue or health to sound condition.

Etymology

Old English hælan expressed making someone whole, sound, and well. Healing an injury continues that idea of restoring wholeness; the verb also came to describe becoming well without naming whoever or whatever brings recovery.

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