WORD OF THE DAY: GESUNDHEIT
interjection|guh-ZOONT-hyte
What It Means
Gesundheit is an interjection used to wish good health to one who has just sneezed.
// I sneezed three times in a row, and my coworker called “gesundheit!” from the next cubicle.
Examples of GESUNDHEIT
“Personally, I did not like my husband’s sneezing into his hand, so I stopped saying ‘gesundheit‘ whenever he did that. He now almost always sneezes into his elbow.” — The Toronto Star, 27 Jan. 2024.
Did You Know?
When English speakers hear “achoo,” they usually respond with either “gesundheit” or “God bless you.” Gesundheit was borrowed in the early 20th century from German, where it literally means “health”; it was formed from gesund (“healthy”) and -heit (“-hood”). Wishing a person good health when they sneeze was historically 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. Gesundheit at one time also served as a toast when drinking (much like its English counterpart, “to your health”), but this use is now largely obsolete.
Merriam Webster Dictionary
