gesundheit

interjection

ge·sund·heit | \ gə-ˈzu̇nt-ˌhīt

\

Definition of gesundheit

—used to wish good health especially to one who has just sneezed

Did You Know?

When English speakers hear achoo, they usually respond with either gesundheit or God bless you. Gesundheit was borrowed from German, where it literally means "health"; it was formed by a combination of gesund ("healthy") and -heit ("-hood"). Wishing a person good health when they sneezed was traditionally believed to forestall the illness that a sneeze often portends. God bless you had a similar purpose, albeit with more divine weight to the well-wishing. It was once believed that the soul could exit the body during a sneeze, causing ill health, so folks said "God bless you" to ward off this danger. Gesundheit, at one time, also served as a toast when drinking (much like its English counterpart, "to your health"), but this usage is now mostly obsolete.

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about gesundheit

Listen to Our Podcast about gesundheit

Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP

Dictionary Entries near gesundheit

gesture language

gesture politics

Statistics for gesundheit

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for gesundheit

The first known use of gesundheit was in 1914

See more words from the same year

Keep scrolling for more

More Definitions for gesundheit

gesundheit

interjection

English Language Learners Definition of gesundheit

—used to wish good health to someone who has sneezed

See the full definition for gesundheit in the English Language Learners Dictionary

Comments on gesundheit

What made you want to look up gesundheit? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

WORD OF THE DAY

glade

an open space surrounded by woods

Test Your Vocabulary

Name that Food Quiz

Name these cookies!

Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

SCRABBLE® Sprint

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games