Gesundheit

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For the 19th century Polish rabbi, see Yaakov Gesundheit.

For the institute, see Gesundheit! Institute.

Gesundheit (German pronunciation (help·info) IPA: [ɡəˈzʊntˌhaɪt]) is the German and Yiddish word for health. When a person sneezes, German, Yiddish, and often English speakers typically say Gesundheit! to wish them good health, serving much the same purpose as "bless you" in English. The expression arrived in America with early German immigrants, such as the Pennsylvania Dutch, and doubtless passed into local English usage in areas with substantial German-speaking populations.^[1] The expression is first widely attested in American English as of 1910, about the time when large numbers of Yiddish-speaking Ashkenazi Jews immigrated to the United States. The correct Yiddish pronunciation is gezunterheyt געזונטערהייט.

When used in an English context the word is often pronounced as [ɡəˈzʊntaɪd] or [ɡəˈzʊntaɪt].

[edit] Use

Gesundheit is also used in Australia. It was imported to South Australia through the Evangelical Lutheran refugees who fled the established Lutheran church in the east of Germany. These Silesian immigrants spoke their own language until the two World Wars caused a dramatic decline in the use of German in Australia. Gesundheit was used until recent times by the majority English speaking population. Its usage seems now to have declined.

The expression is also found in Jewish custom. Although not technically part of Jewish Law (Halacha), the custom of saying gezuntheit, tzu gezunt, labree'ut, or God bless you is considered a mannerly custom. It is written in Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer (51) that the patriarch Jacob was the first person to become ill before passing on. Before that, people would sneeze and die. When God infused the soul into Man, He "blew it" into Adam's nostrils. Thus, when it came time for the soul to be returned to its Maker, it would leave through the same portal it arrived.

Occasionally in popular culture, if a character in, for example, a cartoon says a particularly long or complex word or phrase, someone else will often sarcastically say "Gesundheit" in return, owing to the awkwardness of the way the word sounds.

Gesundheit can also be used to refer to Skewes' number (10^10^10^34); one of the largest numbers ever used in a mathematical proof.

[edit] Origin

There are different theories regarding the origin of this phrase. One idea is that the expression stems from the Middle Ages when the Bubonic Plague was threatening European health. In this case the person saying gesundheit was actually wishing good health upon themselves, since they may have been infected by the one who sneezed. However this seems to be more urban legend than fact, as the Germ theory of disease was still a few hundred years off.

Modern German-speakers interpret the saying as wishing someone to regain his health soon by overcoming his current cold. This popular etymology is backed up by the reply Danke! ("Thanks!") in response to Gesundheit! commonly uttered by the one who sneezed.

Superstitions date back as early as Ancient Greece (ref. Herodotus, History 440 BC). The soul was thought to leave the body through the nose upon death, so a powerful sneeze was thus considered an ominous event.

However, any thoughts of soul-evasion or demons by sneezing are unheard of in modern-day Germany, though in some rural areas, superstition has it that a sneeze is an affirmative omen in that something that has just been said is correct, or that one is doing or considering the right thing, giving rise to the Missingsch saying Si(eh)ssu, is wahr! (comparable to English "See, told ya!") used in conjunction with Gesundheit!^{[citation needed]}