gesundheit

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Gesundheit (German pronunciation: [ɡəˈzʊnt.haɪt]  ( listen)) is the German and Yiddish word for health. When a person sneezes, German, Yiddish, and North American English speakers typically say Gesundheit! to wish them good health, serving much the same purpose as "bless you" in English or "À vos souhaits!" (or "À tes souhaits!" in informal situations) in French. 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. The expression also has been known to mean "Bless You" in some cultures.

When used in an English context the word is sometimes given the spelling pronunciation /ɡəˈzʊntaɪd/.

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