(‘Wholesome’ was a word (‘hailasam’) before English was even its own language, when whole/hail primarily meant being healthy. So it pretty much bypasses the idea of ‘leaving nothing out’. It’s like saying that a brainstorming session has to be some sort of violent, disturbing process because it contains the word ‘storm’ in it. Indeed there’s a completely separate meaning for ‘brainstorm’ which is more like this—a moment of mental confusion essentially, which is basically the opposite of a brainstorming session.)
I appreciate the etymological details, and feel a bit embarrassed that I hadn’t looked into that already.
I guess I’d describe what’s going on as:
The original word meant “healthy”
I’m largely using it to mean “healthy” in the sense of “healthy for the systems we’re embedded in” (which I think is a pretty normal usage)
I’m adding a flavour of “attending to the wholeness” (inspired by Christopher Alexander), which includes both “attending to all the parts” (new) as well as “attending to making things fit with existing parts” (essentially an existing meaning, as this is part of healthy)
This is vibe-wise supported by the presence of the string “whole” as part of “wholesome”
This makes it easier for me (and I guess others) to conceive of and remember this extra sense
(‘Wholesome’ was a word (‘hailasam’) before English was even its own language, when whole/hail primarily meant being healthy. So it pretty much bypasses the idea of ‘leaving nothing out’. It’s like saying that a brainstorming session has to be some sort of violent, disturbing process because it contains the word ‘storm’ in it. Indeed there’s a completely separate meaning for ‘brainstorm’ which is more like this—a moment of mental confusion essentially, which is basically the opposite of a brainstorming session.)
I appreciate the etymological details, and feel a bit embarrassed that I hadn’t looked into that already.
I guess I’d describe what’s going on as:
The original word meant “healthy”
I’m largely using it to mean “healthy” in the sense of “healthy for the systems we’re embedded in” (which I think is a pretty normal usage)
I’m adding a flavour of “attending to the wholeness” (inspired by Christopher Alexander), which includes both “attending to all the parts” (new) as well as “attending to making things fit with existing parts” (essentially an existing meaning, as this is part of healthy)
This is vibe-wise supported by the presence of the string “whole” as part of “wholesome”
This makes it easier for me (and I guess others) to conceive of and remember this extra sense
However, it’s etymologically just a coincidence
Does that seem fair?