Jump to:

• hale
  hale

  adjective

  free from disease or infirmity; robust; vigorous.
• Hale
  Hale

  noun

  Edward Everett, 1822–1909, U.S. clergyman and author.

hale

¹ American  

[heyl] / heɪl /

adjective

haler, halest

1. free from disease or infirmity; robust; vigorous.

   hale and hearty men in the prime of life.

   Synonyms:

   healthy, sound

   Antonyms:

   sickly

---

hale ² American  

[heyl] / heɪl /

verb (used with object)

haled, haling

1. to compel (someone) to go.

   to hale a man into court.

2. to haul; pull.

---

hale ³ American  

[hah-ley] / ˈhɑ leɪ /

noun

1. (in Hawaii) a simple thatched-roof dwelling.

---

Hale ⁴ American  

[heyl] / heɪl /

noun

1. Edward Everett, 1822–1909, U.S. clergyman and author.

2. George Ellery 1868–1938, U.S. astronomer.

3. Sir Matthew, 1609–76, British jurist: Lord Chief Justice 1671–76.

4. Nathan, 1755–76, American soldier hanged as a spy by the British during the American Revolution.

5. Sarah Josepha 1788–1879, U.S. editor and author.

---

Hale ¹ British  

/ heɪl /

noun

1. George Ellery. 1868–1938, US astronomer: undertook research into sunspots and invented the spectroheliograph

2. Sir Matthew. 1609–76, English judge and scholar; Lord Chief Justice (1671–76)

---

hale ² British  

/ heɪl /

adjective

1. healthy and robust (esp in the phrase hale and hearty )

2. dialect whole

---

hale ³ British  

/ heɪl /

verb

1. (tr) to pull or drag; haul

---

Other Word Forms

• haleness
  noun
• haler
  noun

Etymology

Origin of hale¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English (northern and Scottish); Old English hāl “sound, uninjured”; see origin at whole, heal ( def. )

Origin of hale²

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English hal(l)en, hailen “to drag, pull,” from Old French haler, from Germanic; compare Dutch halen “to pull, fetch”; akin to Old English geholian “to get, obtain,” German holen “to fetch”; see also haul

Origin of hale³

First recorded in 1885–90; from Hawaiian; literally, “house, hall, building”

Explanation

If you're hale, you’re strong and in good health. Think "hale and hearty," the well-known phrase to describe someone who can lift a piano or work ten hours in a field without blinking an eye. Don't confuse hale with hail. Hale, again, is healthy. Hail is for hailing a cab, or hailing to Caesar, and it also means a kind of precipitation where frozen ice balls pour down from the sky. Hale is a word that conjures up country folk, farming stock, people who swear that they haven’t had to go to a doctor in ten years because they sleep with the windows open 365 days a year.

Example Sentences

A hale and hearty speed signifies that your body’s systems—including your heart, lungs, muscles and nervous system—are working well together.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 9, 2026

He has gone to lengths to appear hale, skiing with a professional snowboarder and with an Olympic gold medalist who called him a “ripper” as they raced down the mountain.

From New York Times • May 8, 2024

During the 1918–19 flu pandemic, however, doctors and other observers noted a high death toll among young, presumably hale adults.

From Science Magazine • Oct. 9, 2023

Keep that in mind when taking the pulse of broadcast and cable in its current state, which is far from hale and hearty.

From Salon • Sep. 3, 2023

This is why the people of the Protectorate are healthy and hale and shining.

From "The Girl Who Drank the Moon" by Kelly Barnhill