Definition of Whole

Whole
(n.)
The entire thing; the entire assemblage of parts; totality; all of a thing, without defect or exception; a thing complete in itself.
  
(n.)
A regular combination of parts; a system.
  
(a.)
Possessing, or being in a state of, heath and soundness; healthy; sound; well.
  
(a.)
Containing the total amount, number, etc.; comprising all the parts; free from deficiency; all; total; entire; as, the whole earth; the whole solar system; the whole army; the whole nation.
  
(a.)
Complete; entire; not defective or imperfect; not broken or fractured; unimpaired; uninjured; integral; as, a whole orange; the egg is whole; the vessel is whole.
  

whole

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Noun
1. all of something including all its component elements or parts; "Europe considered as a whole"; "the whole of American literature"
(hypernym) concept, conception, construct
(hyponym) unit
(part-meronym) part, section, division
2. an assemblage of parts that is regarded as a single entity; "how big is that part compared to the whole?"; "the team is a unit"
(synonym) whole thing, unit
(hypernym) object, physical object
(hyponym) artifact, artefact
(part-meronym) part, portion

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Adjective
1. including all components without exception; being one unit or constituting the full amount or extent or duration; complete; "gave his whole attention"; "a whole wardrobe for the tropics"; "the whole hog"; "a whole week"; "the baby cried the whole trip home"; "a whole loaf of bread"
(antonym) fractional
(similar) entire, full, total
(see-also) complete
(attribute) integrity, unity, wholeness
2. (of siblings) having the same parents; "whole brothers and sisters"
(antonym) half
3. exhibiting or restored to vigorous good health; "hale and hearty"; "whole in mind and body"; "a whole person again"
(synonym) hale
(similar) healthy

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Adverb
1. to a complete degree or to the full or entire extent (`whole' is often used informally for `wholly'); "he was wholly convinced"; "entirely satisfied with the meal"; "it was completely different from what we expected"; "was completely at fault"; "a totally new situation"; "the directions were all wrong"; "it was not altogether her fault"; "an altogether new approach"; "a whole new idea"
(synonym) wholly, entirely, completely, totally, all, altogether
(classification) colloquialism

The whole nine yards
Meaning
All of it - full measure.
Origin
Of all the feedback that The Phrase Finder site gets this is the phrase that causes the most feedback and the most disagreement. At the outset it should be said that no one knows the origin, although many have a fervent belief that they do. These convictions are unfailingly based on no more evidence than 'someone told me'.
It is most likely that, as with many phrases, it originated in colloquial use and has been appropriated as a general term meaning full measure. It crops up in many contexts, which isn't surprising as there are many things that can be measured in yards. This leads to many plausible explanations of the phrase's origin; regrettably, plausibility isn't enough.
The earliest known reference to the phrase in print is as recent as 1967 in 'The Doom Pussy', a novel about the Vietnam War by Elaine Shepard. In that context the phrase refers to the difficulties a character has with disentangling himself from an unwanted marriage. It isn't clear if the author coined the phrase herself, although the manner of its use in the story would suggest not. Ms. Shepard died in September 1998, so unfortunately we can't ask her.
Although the precise origin of any particular phrase may be difficult to determine, the date of its coinage usually isn't. Phrases that are accepted into common use appear in newspapers, court reports, novels etc. very soon after they are coined and continue to do so for as long as the phrase is in use. Anyone putting forward an explanation of an origin the the whole nine yards that dates from before the 1960s has to explain the lack of a printed record of it prior to 1967. If, to take the most commonly repeated version for instance, the phrase comes from the length of W.W.II machine gun belts, why is there no printed account of that in the thousands of books written about the war and the countless millions of newspaper editions published throughout the 1950s and 60s? The ideas that it pre-dates the war and goes back to the 19th century or even the Middle Ages are hardly plausible.
These are some of the versions going the rounds: take your pick...

1. It comes from the nine cubic yards capacity of US concrete trucks and dates from around 1970s.
2. The explanation refers to World War II aircraft, which if proved correct would clearly predate the concrete truck version. There are several aircraft related sources, 1. the length of US bombers bomb racks, 2. the length of RAF Spitfire's machine gun bullet belts, 3. the length of ammunition belts in ground based anti-aircraft turrets, etc. No evidence to show that any of these measured nine yards has been forthcoming.
3. Tailors use nine yards of material for top quality suits. Related to 'dressed to the nines'?
4. The derivation has even been suggested as being naval and that the yards are shipyards rather than measures of area or volume.
5. Another naval version is that the yards are yardarms. Large sailing ships had three masts, each with three yardarms. The theory goes that ships in battle can continue changing direction as new sails are unfurled. Only when the last sail, on the ninth yardarm, is used do the enemy know which direction the ship is finally headed.
6. A mediaeval test requiring the victim to walk nine paces over hot coals.

If anyone has any hard evidence of this phrase being used before 1967, e.g. an appearance of the phrase in print, we would love to see it. Please post your feedback at the Phrase Finder Discussion Forum - but please, evidence not conjecture.

Go the whole hog
do completely and thoroughly; commit oneself unreservedly to a course of action

The whole schmear
totality of a scheme, activity, etc. (originally US slang (1960s); from Yiddish “shmeer”, from “schmeeren” = spread)

The whole shebang
totality of something; works; lot; everything (origin unknown)

Whole box and dice
the whole lot

Whole kit and kaboodle
got it all, everything's included

whole

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whole
\whole\ (?), a. [oe. hole, hol, hal, hool, as. hāl well, sound, healthy; akin to ofries. & os. h&?;l, d. heel, g. heil, icel. heill, sw. hel whole, dan. heel, goth. hails well, sound, oir. c&?;l augury. cf. hale, hail to greet, heal to cure, health, holy.]
1. containing the total amount, number, etc.; comprising all the parts; free from deficiency; all; total; entire; as, the whole earth; the whole solar system; the whole army; the whole nation. "on their whole host i flew unarmed." the whole race of mankind.
2. complete; entire; not defective or imperfect; not broken or fractured; unimpaired; uninjured; integral; as, a whole orange; the egg is whole; the vessel is whole. my life is yet whole in me. i. 9.
3. possessing, or being in a state of, heath and soundness; healthy; sound; well. [she] findeth there her friends hole and sound. they that be whole need not a physician. ix. 12. when sir lancelot's deadly hurt was whole.
whole
blood. (law of descent) see under blood, n., 2.
whole
note (mus.), the note which represents a note of longest duration in common use; a semibreve.
whole
number (math.), a number which is not a fraction or mixed number; an integer.
whole
snipe (zo?l.), the common snipe, as distinguished from the smaller jacksnipe. [prov. eng.]

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  similar words(39) 

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 whole-souled 
 whole rest 
 whole number 
 whole note 
 whole step 
 whole snipe 
 whole slew 
 whole tone 
 whole to part relation 
 whole thing 
 whole wheat flour 
 whole wheat bread 
 whole shebang 
 whole-length 
 whole-hoofed 
 whole works 
 whole-word method 
 whole-wheat 
 the whole concern 
 upon the whole 
 the whole way 
 heart-whole 
 committee of the whole 
 yu-shiang whole fish 
 all the whole 
 with all one`s whole heart 
 whole gale 
 whole kit and boodle 
 on the whole 
 whole kit 
 whole blood 
 whole caboodle 
 whole meal bread 
 whole lot 
 upon the whole matter 
 whole kit and caboodle 
 whole meal flour 
 whole name 
 whole milk 

whole
adj., uile

whole

www.interactiveselfstudy.com

Adgyfhau
Adgyfhau = v. to make whole again

Boncaeth
Boncaeth = n. a mass, a whole

Corffolaeth
Corffolaeth = n. a personality, a whole

Crynswth
Crynswth = n. a mass, a whole

Cwbl
Cwbl = n. a whole, a total

Cydol
Cydol = a. complete, whole

Cyfan
Cyfan = a. entire, whole, total

Cyfaniad
Cyfaniad = n. a making whole

Cyfanu
Cyfanu = v. to make whole

Cyffred
Cyffred = n. comprehension; a whole, v. to comprehend, a. universal; whole

Cyfhau
Cyfhau = v. make whole

Didwn
Didwn = a. whole, unfractured

Hollol
Hollol = a. total, whole, entire

Iach
Iach = a. sound, whole, healthy

Oll
Oll = a. all, whole, everyone

Sym
Sym = n. what is whole

whole
totus, universus, integer

the highest part whole
summa

WHOLE
[L:98] In distinguishing pure from empirical concepts, Kant opposes the dynamic and mathematical whole. In pure concepts, "the whole...is prior to the part" and thus pure ideas cannot by obtained by composition"; for Kant, a pure concept "is one that is not abstracted from experience but springs from the understanding even as to content." To this is contrasted "the mathematical generation of a whole".

whole step
the distance of two half steps in the same direction

whole
n. Dol

be whole
v. naQ

Panophobia
Fear of everything
Also known as Pantophobia

Artemas
whole, sound
  

Kehelahath
a whole; a congregation
  

Whole
Without recognition of its parts a whole is an essentially structureless and unanalyzable unity. If its parts are independent or random ly sampled by an observer, a whole has no outstanding quality other than that of being an observer's aggregate (see aggregation ). If a whole is qualitatively different from a mere aggregate of its parts, the difference lies in its structure or organization . Thus any whole may be understood as, described in terms of, and considered equal to a structure or an organization of component parts (see gestalt, holism , system ). In some cases the properties of its parts may be ignored without appreciable loss of understanding a whole, particularly when parts are numerous, simple and the same as in the objects of computer sciences, macro -economics, and quantum physics all of which heavily rely on mathematics for their construct ions. When the parts are few, complex, different, and tenuously related, as in a marriage, the properties or the parts figure more prominently in the understanding of a whole and can not be ignored in favor of such wholes' organization. (Krippendorff ))

WFMI
Whole Foods Market, Inc.
Exchange: Nasdaq
Owns and operates chain of natural foods supermarkets which sell meat and poultry free of growth hormones and antibiotics, unprocessed grains and cereals, gourmet foods such as beer and cheese, vitamins, body care products and books and magazines emphasizing health and nutrition.

WLIV
WHOLE LIVING INC
Exchange: OTCBB
Not Available

Holism

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