Definition: whole
whole
adj 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" [ant: fractional]
2: (of siblings) having the same parents; "whole brothers and
sisters" [ant: half]
3: exhibiting or restored to vigorous good health; "hale and
hearty"; "whole in mind and body"; "a whole person again"
[syn: hale]
n 1: all of something including all its component elements or
parts; "Europe as a whole"; "the whole of American
literature"
2: an assemblage of parts that is regarded as a single entity;
"how big is that part compared to the whole?"; "the
repairman simply replaced the unit" [syn: whole thing, unit]
adv : to a complete degree or to the full or entire extent; "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"; (`whole' is often used informally for
`wholly' as in "a whole new idea") [syn: wholly, entirely,
completely, totally, all, altogether] [ant: partly]
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Whole \Whole\, a. [OE. hole, hol, hal, hool, AS. h[=a]l 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.'' --Milton. The whole race of mankind. --Shak. 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. --2 Sam. i. 9. 3. Possessing, or being in a state of, heath and soundness; healthy; sound; well. [She] findeth there her friends hole and sound. --Chaucer. They that be whole need not a physician. --Matt. ix. 12. When Sir Lancelot's deadly hurt was whole. --Tennyson. 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["o]l.), the common snipe, as distinguished from the smaller jacksnipe. [Prov. Eng.] Syn: All; total; complete; entire; integral; undivided; uninjured; unimpaired; unbroken; healthy. Usage: Whole, Total, Entire, Complete. When we use the word whole, we refer to a thing as made up of parts, none of which are wanting; as, a whole week; a whole year; the whole creation. When we use the word total, we have reference to all as taken together, and forming a single totality; as, the total amount; the total income. When we speak of a thing as entire, we have no reference to parts at all, but regard the thing as an integer, i. e., continuous or unbroken; as, an entire year; entire prosperity. When we speak of a thing as complete, there is reference to some progress which results in a filling out to some end or object, or a perfected state with no deficiency; as, complete success; a complete victory. All the whole army stood agazed on him. --Shak. One entire and perfect chrysolite. --Shak. Lest total darkness should by night regain Her old possession, and extinguish life. --Milton. So absolute she seems, And in herself complete. --Milton.
Whole \Whole\, n.
1. The entire thing; the entire assemblage of parts;
totality; all of a thing, without defect or exception; a
thing complete in itself.
``This not the whole of life to live, Nor all of
death to die. --J.
Montgomery.
2. A regular combination of parts; a system.
Parts answering parts shall slide into a whole.
--Pope.
Committee of the whole. See under Committee.
Upon the whole, considering all things; taking everything
into account; in view of all the circumstances or
conditions.
Syn: Totality; total; amount; aggregate; gross.
