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• 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  

[hayl] / 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

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hale ² American  

[hayl] / heɪl /

verb (used with object)

haled, haling

1. to compel (someone) to go.

   to hale a man into court.

2. to haul; pull.

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hale ³ American  

[hah-lay] / ˈhɑ leɪ /

noun

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

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Hale ⁴ American  

[hayl] / 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.

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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)

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hale ² British  

/ heɪl /

adjective

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

2. dialect whole

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hale ³ British  

/ heɪl /

verb

1. (tr) to pull or drag; haul

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Other Word Forms

• haleness
  noun
• haler
  noun

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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”

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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

See Examples For:

hale Hale haler haled haling

Presidents famously age during their terms, often starting off looking hale and hearty and, by the time they’re finished, appearing tired, more lined and a whole lot grayer than when they started.

From Salon ● Oct. 10, 2026

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

The trail maintainers in Maine have a certain hale devotion to seeking out the rockiest climbs and most forbidding slopes, and of these Maine has a breathtaking plenitude.

From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson

“It betrayed the trust of all partners who were willing to share information at the time,” said Geoff Hale, who worked on CISA’s elections team from the agency’s inception until last year.

From Salon ● Oct. 26, 2026

"We didn't put any expectations on ourselves, but they played like they had nothing to lose," New Zealand player Georgia Hale said.

From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026

“Our mission is to empower people to live healthier, longer, and an IPO is just one step in our journey,” Oura Chief Executive Tom Hale said Tuesday.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026

“With a rate hike in play at next week’s Fed meeting, higher mortgage rates and more pressure on home sales are likely in the near-term,” Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com, said in a statement.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026

After Blackie was taken away, White thought that Burkhart was ready to confess and turn on Hale, but each time Burkhart came close to doing so, he stopped himself.

From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann

Army is haler & healthier than any army has ever been in any war.

From Time Magazine Archive

He still hadn’t gone back to work, but I thought he never looked haler or heartier, or neater or spiffier.

From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns

Many a haler remnant than he had gone down on a last voyage. 

From The Mutiny of the Elsinore by Jack London

"Fancy, indeed, sir; why, I never saw you looking haler."

From The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction Volume 14, No. 394, October 17, 1829 by Various

You never could find a haler man, Tan-ta-ta-ran-tan-tare!

From Nights in London by Thomas Burke

“Unsurprisingly, corporations did not relish the prospect of being haled into court for any claim anywhere they conducted business,” he wrote.

From New York Times ● Jun. 27, 2023

“Once the president is haled into court, there are innumerable obligations that flow from that,” he said.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 19, 2017

At one point the miniaturized siblings are haled into court for boarding a train without tickets.

From Washington Post ● Jun. 28, 2017

Last week one of the terrorists was finally haled into court -- in Washington.

From Time Magazine Archive

Or such-and-such a merchant had wept when haled before the Liberty Tree and sworn never to do trade with England until all grievances had been righted.

From "Johnny Tremain" by Esther Hoskins Forbes

Some of the aircraft were given “vectors” that would take them around airspace over the haling warship.

From Washington Times ● Mar. 8, 2023

“There’s a special indignity that can cause diplomatic tension about haling a foreign official personally … into court,” John Bash, an attorney representing the fund and al-Rumayyan, told the court at a hearing last month.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 17, 2023

Kalanick was necessary for one part of creating the ride haling industry.

From New York Times ● Apr. 23, 2017

Strange it may be, but for Jordi Savall the haling comes quite naturally.

From The Guardian ● Jul. 6, 2011

A few twilight shapes were pattering through the narrow street--a squad of Yamên runners haling a prisoner.

From Dragon's blood by Henry Milner Rideout

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