hell

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See also: he'll and Hell

English[edit]

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Alternative forms[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • enPR: hĕl, IPA(key): /hɛl/
  • Audio (US)
    		(file)
  • Audio (UK)
    		(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɛl

Etymology 1[edit]

From Middle English helle, from Old English hell, from Proto-Germanic *haljō (“concealed place, netherworld”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- (“to cover, conceal, save”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Hälle (“hell”), West Frisian hel (“hell”), Dutch hel (“hell”), German Low German Hell (“hell”), German Hölle (“hell”), Norwegian helvete (“hell”), Icelandic hel (“the abode of the dead, death”). Also related to the Hel of Germanic mythology. See also hele.

Proper noun[edit]

hell

  1. In various religions, the torment place where some or all evil spirits are believed to go after death
    • 1611, KJV, Proverbs, 23:14
      Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell.
  2. (in many religions, uncountable) The place where sinners suffer 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.
Synonyms[edit]
Antonyms[edit]
  • (in many religions, uncountable): heaven
Translations[edit]

Noun[edit]

hell (countable and uncountable, plural hells)

  1. (countable, hyperbolic, figuratively) A place or situation of great suffering in life.
    War is 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 (music), “Disposable Heroes”, in Master of Puppets:
      Why, am I dying? / Kill, have no fear / Lie, live off lying / Hell, hell is here
  2. (countable) A place for gambling.
    • 1877, William Black, Green Pastures and Piccadilly
      a convenient little gambling hell for those who had grown reckless
    • 1906 January–October, Joseph Conrad, chapter II, in The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale, London: Methuen & Co., […], published 1907, OCLC 270548466; The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale (Collection of British Authors; 3995), copyright edition, Leipzig: Bernhard Tauchnitz, 1907, OCLC 1107573959, page 15:
      But there was also about him an indescribable air which no mechanic could have acquired in the practice of his handicraft however dishonestly exercised: [...] the air of moral nihilism common to keepers of gambling hells and disorderly houses; [...]
  3. (figuratively) An extremely hot place.
    You don’t have a snowball's chance in hell.
  4. (sometimes considered vulgar) 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.
  5. (obsolete) A place into which a tailor throws shreds, or a printer discards broken type.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Hudibras to this entry?)
  6. In certain games of chase, a place to which those who are caught are carried for detention.
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]

Interjection[edit]

hell

  1. (impolite, sometimes considered vulgar) Used to express discontent, unhappiness, or anger.
    Oh, hell! I got another parking ticket.
  2. (impolite, sometimes considered vulgar) Used to emphasize.
    Hell, yeah!
  3. (impolite, sometimes considered vulgar) Used to introduce an intensified statement following an understated one; nay; not only that, but.
    [Do it, or, r]est assured, there will be no more Middle Eastern crisis – hell, there will be no more Middle East!
Translations[edit]
See also[edit]

Adverb[edit]

hell (not comparable)

  1. (postpositional) Alternative form of the hell or like hell.
    • 1991, Stephen Fry, The Liar, p. 35:
      ‘I know whether a boy is telling me the truth or not.’
      ‘Thank you, sir.’
      Did he hell. They never bloody did.

Etymology 2[edit]

From German hellen (“to brighten, burnish”). Related to Dutch hel (“clear, bright”) and German hell (“clear, bright”).

Verb[edit]

hell (third-person singular simple present hells, present participle helling, simple past and past participle helled)

  1. (rare, metal-working) To add luster to, burnish (silver or gold).
    • 1770, Godfrey Smith, The Laboratory: Or, School of Arts
      To hell gold or gilt workː take two ounces of tartar, two ounces of sulfur.. and it will give it a fine luster.
References[edit]

Etymology 3[edit]

From Old Norse hella (“to pour”). Cognate with Icelandic hella (“to pour”), Norwegian helle (“to pour”), Swedish hälla (“to pour”). See also hield.

Verb[edit]

hell (third-person singular simple present hells, present participle helling, simple past and past participle helled)

  1. (rare) To pour.
    • 18th century, unknown author, The Harvest or Bashful Shepherd
      Gosh, the sickle went into me handː Down hell'd the bluid.
References[edit]

Albanian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Proto-Albanian *skōla, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kol- (“stake”); compare Lithuanian kuõlas, Polish kół, Ancient Greek σκύλος (skúlos).

Noun[edit]

hell m

  1. skewer
  2. spear
  3. icicle

Cornish[edit]

Noun[edit]

hell

  1. Aspirate mutation of kell.

Estonian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Of Finnic origin. Cognate to Finnish hellä and Votic ellä.

Adjective[edit]

hell (genitive hella, partitive hella)

  1. tender, gentle

Declension[edit]

Declension of hell (type külm)
singular plural
nominative hell hellad
genitive hella hellade
partitive hella helli / hellasid
illative hella / hellasse helladesse / hellisse
inessive hellas hellades / hellis
elative hellast helladest / hellist
allative hellale helladele / hellile
adessive hellal helladel / hellil
ablative hellalt helladelt / hellilt
translative hellaks helladeks / helliks
terminative hellani helladeni
essive hellana helladena
abessive hellata helladeta
comitative hellaga helladega

German[edit]

FWOTD – 3 September 2014

Etymology[edit]

From Middle High German hel (“resounding, loud, shining, bright”), from Old High German hel (“resounding”), from Proto-Germanic *halliz (“resounding”), from Proto-Germanic *hellaną (“to resound, make a sound”), from Proto-Indo-European *kelh₁- (“to call, make noise”). Cognate with Dutch hel.

Pronunciation[edit]

Adjective[edit]

hell (comparative heller, superlative am hellsten)

  1. clear, bright, light
    • 1918, Elisabeth von Heyking, Die Orgelpfeifen, in: Zwei Erzählungen, Phillipp Reclam jun. Verlag, page 9:
      So dunkel und schauerlich die Gruft aussah, wenn man durch die blinden, bestaubten Scheibchen der kleinen Fenster hineinblickte, so hell und freundlich war oben die Kirche.
      Just as dark and eerie the crypt looked like, if one looked in it through the cloudy, dusted little panes of the small windows, as bright and friendly was the church above.

Declension[edit]

Positive forms of hell
number & gender singular plural
masculine feminine neuter all genders
predicative er ist hell sie ist hell es ist hell sie sind hell
strong declension
(without article) 		nominative heller helle helles helle
genitive hellen heller hellen heller
dative hellem heller hellem hellen
accusative hellen helle helles helle
weak declension
(with definite article) 		nominative der helle die helle das helle die hellen
genitive des hellen der hellen des hellen der hellen
dative dem hellen der hellen dem hellen den hellen
accusative den hellen die helle das helle die hellen
mixed declension
(with indefinite article) 		nominative ein heller eine helle ein helles (keine) hellen
genitive eines hellen einer hellen eines hellen (keiner) hellen
dative einem hellen einer hellen einem hellen (keinen) hellen
accusative einen hellen eine helle ein helles (keine) hellen
Comparative forms of hell
number & gender singular plural
masculine feminine neuter all genders
predicative er ist heller sie ist heller es ist heller sie sind heller
strong declension
(without article) 		nominative hellerer hellere helleres hellere
genitive helleren hellerer helleren hellerer
dative hellerem hellerer hellerem helleren
accusative helleren hellere helleres hellere
weak declension
(with definite article) 		nominative der hellere die hellere das hellere die helleren
genitive des helleren der helleren des helleren der helleren
dative dem helleren der helleren dem helleren den helleren
accusative den helleren die hellere das hellere die helleren
mixed declension
(with indefinite article) 		nominative ein hellerer eine hellere ein helleres (keine) helleren
genitive eines helleren einer helleren eines helleren (keiner) helleren
dative einem helleren einer helleren einem helleren (keinen) helleren
accusative einen helleren eine hellere ein helleres (keine) helleren
Superlative forms of hell
number & gender singular plural
masculine feminine neuter all genders
predicative er ist am hellsten sie ist am hellsten es ist am hellsten sie sind am hellsten
strong declension
(without article) 		nominative hellster hellste hellstes hellste
genitive hellsten hellster hellsten hellster
dative hellstem hellster hellstem hellsten
accusative hellsten hellste hellstes hellste
weak declension
(with definite article) 		nominative der hellste die hellste das hellste die hellsten
genitive des hellsten der hellsten des hellsten der hellsten
dative dem hellsten der hellsten dem hellsten den hellsten
accusative den hellsten die hellste das hellste die hellsten
mixed declension
(with indefinite article) 		nominative ein hellster eine hellste ein hellstes (keine) hellsten
genitive eines hellsten einer hellsten eines hellsten (keiner) hellsten
dative einem hellsten einer hellsten einem hellsten (keinen) hellsten
accusative einen hellsten eine hellste ein hellstes (keine) hellsten

Antonyms[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

Related terms[edit]

Further reading[edit]

  • “hell” in Duden online

Luxembourgish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old High German hel, related to the verb hellan, from Proto-Germanic *hellaną (“to resound”). Cognate with German helle, Dutch hel.

Pronunciation[edit]

Adjective[edit]

hell (masculine hellen, neuter hellt, comparative méi hell, superlative am hellsten)

  1. clear, bright
  2. light, pale

Declension[edit]

declension of hell
number and gender singular plural
masculine feminine neuter all genders
predicative hien ass hell si ass hell et ass hell si si(nn) hell
without article nominative/accusative hellen hell hellt hell
dative hellem heller hellem hellen
with article nominative/accusative hellen hell hellt hell
dative hellen heller hellen hellen

Norwegian Bokmål[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Old Norse heill.

Noun[edit]

hell n (definite singular hellet, indefinite plural hell, definite plural hella or hellene)

  1. luck

Etymology 2[edit]

See the etymology of the main entry.

Verb[edit]

hell

  1. imperative of helle

Further reading[edit]

Norwegian Nynorsk[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Ultimately from Old Norse heill.

Noun[edit]

hell n (definite singular hellet, indefinite plural hell, definite plural hella)

  1. luck

Further reading[edit]

Old English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Proto-West Germanic *hallju, from Proto-Germanic *haljō, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- (“to cover, hide, conceal”).

Compare German hell (“light”).

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

hell f

  1. hell

Declension[edit]

Declension of hell (strong ō-stem)
Case Singular Plural
nominative hell hella, helle
accusative helle hella, helle
genitive helle hella
dative helle hellum

Derived terms[edit]

Descendants[edit]

  • Middle English: helle
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