Dictionary / heal
heal
- verb
- noun
- from Old English
To make better from a disease, wound, etc.; to revive or cure.
1 All current definitions
Every sense of “heal” in current use, as recorded by Wiktionary. Older and obsolete senses are kept separately.
verb
- transitiveTo make better from a disease, wound, etc.; to revive or cure.
This bandage will help to heal your cut.
- intransitiveTo become better or healthy again.
Bandages allow cuts to heal.
- figurativelytransitiveTo reconcile, as a breach or difference; to make whole; to free from guilt.
to heal dissensions
noun
- countableA spell or ability that restores hit points or removes a status ailment.
Also, various interesting spells have been added—for instance, with the Orb spell, you can circle a character, firing offensive bolts or casting heals, and free up a mage-type to cast other spells or even melee.2004, Computer Gaming World, volumes 234-237, page 81:
- countablein pluraluncountableHealing; an instance of restoration of health or hit points.
Give me heals! I need healing!
Older & obsolete senses (1)
- obsoleteuncountablehealth
Cross-check: WordNet senses (3)
- verbheal or recover — also: mend
- verbget healthy again
- verbprovide a cure for, make healthy again — also: bring around, cure
Synonyms: cure, make whole, get better, recover, mend
2 History of the word
The etymology, the path the word travelled, and the words built from it.
The word’s journey, newest to oldest:
- English (today)heal
- Middle Englishhelen
- Old Englishhǣlan “to heal, cure, save, greet, salute”
- Proto-West Germanic*hailijan
- Proto-Germanic*hailijaną “to heal, make whole, save”
- Proto-Indo-European*kéh₂ilos “healthy, whole”
From Middle English helen, from Old English hǣlan (“to heal, cure, save, greet, salute”), from Proto-West Germanic *hailijan, from Proto-Germanic *hailijaną (“to heal, make whole, save”), from Proto-Indo-European *kéh₂ilos (“healthy, whole”). Derived from the adjective at hand in whole.
Cognates
Cognate with Scots hale, hail (“to heal”), Saterland Frisian heila, heilen (“to heal”), West Frisian hielje, Dutch helen (“to heal”), German heilen (“to heal”), Danish hele, Swedish hela (“to heal”), and further Russian цели́ть (celítʹ, “to heal”), Polish calić (“to save”), Czech celit (“to heal”), Serbo-Croatian céliti (“to heal”).
Derivatives — words built from “heal”
Phrases & compounds
Want to go deeper? See also “heal” on Etymonline ↗
3 Original language
Where “heal” came from before it was English.
4 Original meaning
What the word meant at the oldest point the record reaches.
Historical meaning — Webster’s 1913
A historical record, labelled as such: some of these senses are dated or have since shifted.
heal v. t. [See Hele.]
- To cover, as a roof, with tiles, slate, lead, or the like.
heal v. t. [OE. helen, h, AS. h, fr. h hale, sound, whole; akin to OS. h, D. heelen, G. heilen, Goth. hailjan. See Whole.]
- To make hale, sound, or whole; to cure of a disease, wound, or other derangement; to restore to soundness or health.
- To remove or subdue; to cause to pass away; to cure; -- said of a disease or a wound.
- To restore to original purity or integrity.
- To reconcile, as a breach or difference; to make whole; to free from guilt; as, to heal dissensions.
heal v. i.
- To grow sound; to return to a sound state; as, the limb heals, or the wound heals; -- sometimes with up or over; as, it will heal up, or over.
5 Use it with confidence
Model sentences from the sources, matched to the meaning they show. Read each one aloud, then make your own in the game.
verbMeaning: To make better from a disease, wound, etc.; to revive or cure.
This bandage will help to heal your cut.
Speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Matthew 8:8:
verbMeaning: To become better or healthy again.
Bandages allow cuts to heal.
verbMeaning: To reconcile, as a breach or difference; to make whole; to free from guilt.
to heal dissensions
to heal a broken heart
nounMeaning: A spell or ability that restores hit points or removes a status ailment.
Also, various interesting spells have been added—for instance, with the Orb spell, you can circle a character, firing offensive bolts or casting heals, and free up a mage-type to cast other spells or even melee.2004, Computer Gaming World, volumes 234-237, page 81:
The following macro checks whether our current target is friendly and casts a heal on it if so; otherwise it casts the heal on the target's target […]2009, Paul Emmerich, Beginning Lua with World of Warcraft Add-ons, page 351:
nounMeaning: Healing; an instance of restoration of health or hit points.
Give me heals! I need healing!
verbMeaning: get healthy again
The wound is healing slowly
verbMeaning: provide a cure for, make healthy again
The quack pretended to heal patients but never managed to
Three steps to owning it
- Pick one meaning above and read its model sentence out loud.
- Say who or what the word is about in your own life, then build a sentence around that.
- Check it against the definition: would a careful reader understand exactly that meaning?
6 The mastery game
Play it here, or print it and do it with pen and paper. At the end you will know the meanings, history, origin and original meaning — and you will have used the word yourself.
Say it, then spell it
heal
/ˈhiːl/ · heal
Say the word out loud three times, slowly. Notice the stressed syllable. When you are ready, hide it and spell it from memory.
Activate Words · Word-mastery worksheet · Name: ______________________ Date: __________
heal
/ˈhiːl/ · heal · verb, noun
Step 1 — Say it and write it
Say “heal” out loud three times. Then cover the word and write it three times from memory.
Step 2 — Know every meaning
Read each definition. Then write it again in your own words.
Step 3 — Which meaning is it?
“This bandage will help to heal your cut.”
Circle the meaning used.
“Bandages allow cuts to heal.”
Circle the meaning used.
“to heal dissensions”
Circle the meaning used.
Step 4 — History and origin
Write the word’s journey back in time (each language and form):
Write three words built from “heal” and what each means:
Step 5 — Original meaning
The earliest traceable form is Proto-Indo-European *kéh₂ilos. What did it mean?
How does that original meaning connect to the meanings today?
Step 6 — Use it yourself
☐ I can explain its meanings ☐ I know its history ☐ I know its original language ☐ I know its original meaning ☐ I can use it confidently
Answer key — heal
Which meaning, sentence 1: C. To make better from a disease, wound, etc.; to revive or cure.
Which meaning, sentence 2: B. To become better or healthy again.
Which meaning, sentence 3: B. To reconcile, as a breach or difference; to make whole; to free from guilt.
Origin: C. Old English (Old English hǣlan)
Journey: English heal ← Middle English helen ← Old English hǣlan ← Proto-West Germanic *hailijan ← Proto-Germanic *hailijaną ← Proto-Indo-European *kéh₂ilos
Some derivatives: allheal, all-heal, all-healing, healable, heal-all, healand, healee, healer
Original meaning: Proto-Indo-European *kéh₂ilos — “healthy, whole”
Etymology: From Middle English helen, from Old English hǣlan (“to heal, cure, save, greet, salute”), from Proto-West Germanic *hailijan, from Proto-Germanic *hailijaną (“to heal, make whole, save”), from Proto-Indo-European *kéh₂ilos (“healthy, whole”). Derived from the adjective at hand in whole.
Sources: Wiktionary “heal” (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/heal#English), CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org; Princeton WordNet 3.0; Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913, public domain) via GCIDE. Worksheet from https://activatewords.com/w/heal