Heathier

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Showing better health or greater wellness than something else, or than before
2. Being in a more robust, vigorous or sound physical condition compared with another
3. Enjoying a superior state of wellbeing or fitness in comparison to a previous or other state

Etymology: "Heathier" is the comparative of "heathy," which is itself a simple formation: "heath" with the adjective-forming suffix "-y." Its path to meaning "more physically fit" is less direct than the word's structure suggests, since "heath" originally named open, uncultivated land covered in low shrubs such as heather. A "heathy" place was simply one with that kind of ground, and the sense of robust health attached to the word only later, through the wholesome associations of open country air. Because "heathier" is the comparative of "heathy," it is formed by adding "-ier" to that adjective, following the same pattern as "healthier" or "earlier" in English. The word takes its meaning from the same root as "heath," so a reader who knows that heathland is windswept and open will find the image of a fit, outdoorsy body a natural extension of it.

Synonyms: heathery