hell

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See also he'll, and Hell

Contents

[edit] English

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[edit] Alternative forms

[edit] Etymology

From Middle English helle, from Old English hel, hell, helle (“nether world, abode of the dead, hell”), from Proto-Germanic *haljō (“nether world, concealed place”), from Proto-Indo-European *kel- (“to cover, conceal, save”). Cognate Dutch hel (“hell”), German Hölle (“hell”), Icelandic hel (“the abode of the dead, death”). Also related to the Hel of Germanic mythology. See also hele.

[edit] Pronunciation

[edit] Proper noun

hell

  1. In various religions, the place where some or all spirits are believed to go after death
  2. (Christianity, uncountable) The place where devils live and where sinners are punished after death
    May you rot in hell!
    • 1667, John Milton, Paradise Lost
      Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven.
    • 1916, James Joyce, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
      Hell is a strait and dark and foul-smelling prison, an abode of demons and lost souls, filled with fire and smoke.

[edit] Synonyms

[edit] Antonyms

  • (Christianity, uncountable): heaven

[edit] Translations

where sinners go

[edit] Noun

hell (plural hells)

  1. (countable, hyperbolic) A place or situation of great suffering in life
    My new boss is making my job a hell.
    I went through hell to get home today.
    • 1879, General William T. Sherman, commencement address at the Michigan Military Academy
      There is many a boy here today who looks on war as all glory, but, boys, it is all hell.
    • 1986, Metallica, “Disposable Heroes” (song), in Master of Puppets (album): 
      Why, am I dying? / Kill, have no fear / Lie, live off lying / Hell, hell is here
  2. (countable) A place for gambling
    • 1907, Joseph Conrad, The Secret Agent
      ... the air of moral nihilism common to keepers of gambling hells and disorderly houses; ...
  3. An extremely hot place
    You don't have a snowball's chance in hell.
  4. Used as an intensifier in phrases grammatically requiring a noun
    I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take it any more.
    What the hell is wrong with you?
    He says he's going home early? Like hell he is.

[edit] Derived terms

Terms derived from hell (noun)

[edit] Translations

place of suffering in life

[edit] Interjection

hell

  1. (not polite) Used to express negative discontent
    Oh, hell! I got another parking ticket.
  2. (not polite) Used to emphasize
    Hell, yeah!

[edit] See also

[edit] Albanian

[edit] Noun

hell m.

  1. skewer
  2. icicle

[edit] Estonian

[edit] Adjective

hell

  1. tender

[edit] German

[edit] Pronunciation

  • IPA: /hɛl/
  • audio (Germany)
    		(file)
  • audio (Austria)
    		(file)

[edit] Adjective

hell (comparative heller, superlative am hellsten)

  1. clear, bright, light

[edit] Luxembourgish

[edit] Adjective

hell

  1. clear, bright
  2. light, pale

[edit] Declension

declension of hell
masculine feminine neuter plural
accusative hellen hell hellt hell
nominative hellen hell hellt hell
dative hellen heller hellen hellen

[edit] Norwegian

[edit] Noun

hell n.

  1. luck

[edit] Old English

[edit] Etymology

Proto-Germanic *haljō

Compare to halo, an effect of light, and hell, German for "light".

[edit] Noun

hell f.

  1. hell
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