DictionaryRoot: -ðu
Old English
-ðu
a state or quality
Forms
- -ðu
- -th — The modern spelling replaced the old letter ð.
Origin
An inherited Germanic noun ending used with descriptions.
Note
Older changes in the base vowel can make a quality noun look different from its related describing word.
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noun
health
HELTH/helθ/
Sound functioning of a living body.
Etymology
The root meaning “whole” and the state-forming ending present health as wholeness or soundness. This makes well-being a condition of being whole, rather than the act of curing an injury.