Tra từ whole - Từ điển Oxford Advanced Learner 8th

whole [whole wholes] adjective, noun, adverb BrE [həʊl] NAmE [hoʊl]
adjective
1. only before noun full; complete
• He spent the whole day writing.
• We drank a whole bottle each.
•The whole country (= all the people in it) mourned her death.
•Let's forget the whole thing.
•She wasn't telling the whole truth.
2. only before noun used to emphasize how large or important sth is
• We offer a whole variety of weekend breaks.
• I can't afford it— that's the whole point.
3. not broken or damaged
Syn: ↑in one piece
• Owls usually swallow their prey whole (= without chewing it).
Rem: Most idioms containing whole are at the entries for the nouns and verbs in the idioms, for example go the whole hog is at hog.

Word Origin:
Old English hāl, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch heel and German heil, also to the verb ↑hail (senses 1-3). The spelling with wh- (reflecting a dialect pronunciation with w-) first appeared in the 15th cent.

Grammar Point:
half / whole / quarter
Quarter, half and whole can all be nouns: ▪ Cut the apple into quarters. ◇ ▪ Two halves make a whole.
Whole is also an adjective: ▪ I’ve been waiting here for a whole hour.
Half is also a determiner: ▪ Half (of) the work is already finished. ◇ ▪ They spent half the time looking for a parking space. ◇ ▪ Her house is half a mile down the road. Note that you do not put a or the in front of half when it is used in this way: ▪ I waited for half an hour ◇ I waited for a half an hour.
Half can also be used as an adverb: ▪ This meal is only half cooked.

Example Bank:
•I can't afford it— that's the whole point.
•Let's forget the whole thing.
•She wasn't telling the whole truth.
•The whole country mourned her death.
Idioms: ↑as a whole ▪ ↑on the whole ▪ ↑whole lot
Derived Word: ↑wholeness

noun
1. countable a thing that is complete in itself
• Four quarters make a whole.
• The subjects of the curriculum form a coherent whole.
2. singular the ~ of sth all that there is of sth
• The effects will last for the whole of his life.

Word Origin:
Old English hāl, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch heel and German heil, also to the verb ↑hail (senses 1-3). The spelling with wh- (reflecting a dialect pronunciation with w-) first appeared in the 15th cent.

Grammar Point:
half / whole / quarter
Quarter, half and whole can all be nouns: ▪ Cut the apple into quarters. ◇ ▪ Two halves make a whole.
Whole is also an adjective: ▪ I’ve been waiting here for a whole hour.
Half is also a determiner: ▪ Half (of) the work is already finished. ◇ ▪ They spent half the time looking for a parking space. ◇ ▪ Her house is half a mile down the road. Note that you do not put a or the in front of half when it is used in this way: ▪ I waited for half an hour ◇ I waited for a half an hour.
Half can also be used as an adverb: ▪ This meal is only half cooked.

Example Bank:
•At this age, babies do not yet combine sounds into a meaningful whole.
•He tried to fit the pieces of evidence together to make a coherent whole.
•She was struggling to organize her ideas into a coherent whole.
•Technology permeates the whole of our lives.
•The author examines each aspect of Roman society, then attempts to summarize the complex whole.
•The library takes up the whole of the first floor.
•The project involved the whole of the university.
•The text must be seen as part of a larger whole.
•Unemployment is higher in the north than in the country as a whole.

adverb ~ new/different/other… (informal)
completely new/different
• It's a whole new world out here.
• That's a whole other story.
•I suddenly saw him in a whole different light.

Word Origin:
Old English hāl, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch heel and German heil, also to the verb ↑hail (senses 1-3). The spelling with wh- (reflecting a dialect pronunciation with w-) first appeared in the 15th cent.