Gesundheit

From Freepedia

Gesundheit is the German word for health. When a person sneezes, Germans typically say "Gesundheit!" to wish them good health. This expression has found its way into the English language, first appearing in the early 1900s, and is sometimes heard used instead of the more common bless you.

There are different theories regarding the origin of this phrase. One idea is that the expression stems from the Middle Ages when the Bubonic Plague was threatening European health. In this case, the person saying gesundheit was actually wishing good health upon themselves, since they may have become infected by the one who sneezed. During this time, it was also commonly believed that sneezing made one's body vulnerable to evil spirits. Thus another plausible explanation is that gesundheit was a blessing to ward off demons while the sneezer's body was defenseless.

Superstitions date back as early as Ancient Greece (ref. Herodotus, "History" 440BCE). The soul was thought to leave the body through the nose upon death, so a powerful sneeze was thus considered an ominous event.