# holism

> English word · Noun

## Definitions
1. A theory or belief that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.
2. A practice based on such a theory or belief.

## Etymology
From hol- (“whole, entire, total”) + -ism. Coined in 1926 by Jan Smuts.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/holism