How did gesundheit work its way into common American usage? From Wikipedia: In German, Gesundheit ( [to your] "Health") is said after a sneeze This is sometimes used in the United States 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
Bless you sneezing - English Language Usage Stack Exchange The exchangeable term "gesundheit" comes from Germany, and it literally means "health " The idea is that a sneeze typically precedes illness It entered the English language in the early part of the 20th century, brought to the United States by German-speaking immigrants
What are alternative responses for when someone sneezes? Both the German gesundheit and the Yiddish zay gezunt (phonetical English transliteration; in Yiddish it would be rendered "זײַ געזונט") have made significant inroads into English You are more likely to hear the Yiddish in places that had a significant Ashkenazi immigrant population (particularly certain areas of New York City), but both are more-or-less English now (or at least
What is an alternative to Bless you after sneezing? Saying "Bless you" (or Gesundheit, or anything else) after someone sneezes does, to some extent, oblige the sneezer to respond with thanks of some kind This may be inconvenient, especially if the person is about to sneeze again, and such an exchange becomes downright silly in a chain of multiple sneezes — especially if, as often happens, the
Secular phrase of bless you (after someone sneezes)? English speakers not comfortable saying bless you might instead use the German loanword gesundheit Related question: What are alternative responses for when someone sneezes?
Looking for the God Bless You of Hiccups FWIW :-) Saint Walburga, a Benedictine nun and healer in the 8th century, is the patron saint of coughing, and a hiccup is (at least etymologically) a kind of cough So perhaps you could invoke her name? Walburga! Sort of like Gesundheit!
politeness - God bless you equivalent for fart? - English Language . . . "God bless you" "Gesundheit" And others But with a fart you laugh, deride or come up with something clever to say on the spot Is there a commonly known polite word or phrase that says "I acknowledge your flatulence" similar to things said after sneezing?
Kalender