hell
EnglishEdit
Alternative formsEdit
PronunciationEdit
Etymology 1Edit
From Middle English helle, from Old English hell, from Proto-West Germanic *hallju, 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 nounEdit
hell
- (in many religions, uncountable) A place of torment where some or all sinners and evil spirits are believed to go after death.
- May you rot in hell!
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Proverbs 23:14:
- Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell.
- 1667, John Milton, Paradise Lost:
- Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven.
- 1697, [William] Congreve, The Mourning Bride, a Tragedy. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, Act III, page 39:
- Heav'n has no Rage, like Love to Hatred turn'd, / Nor Hell a Fury, like a Woman ſcorn'd.
- 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.
SynonymsEdit
AntonymsEdit
- (in many religions, uncountable): heaven
TranslationsEdit
|
NounEdit
hell (countable and uncountable, plural hells)
- (countable, hyperbolic, figuratively) 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 (music), “Disposable Heroes”, in Master of Puppets:
- Why, am I dying? / Kill, have no fear / Lie, live off lying / Hell, hell is here
- (countable) A place for gambling.
- 1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 61, in The History of Pendennis. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1849–1850, →OCLC:
- Here’s five-and-twenty for you. Don’t be losing it at the hells now.
- 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; The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale (Collection of British Authors; 3995), copyright edition, Leipzig: Bernhard Tauchnitz, 1907, →OCLC, 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; [...]
- (figuratively) An extremely hot place.
- You don’t have a snowball's chance in hell.
- (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.
- (obsolete) A place into which a tailor throws shreds, or a printer discards broken type.
- 1662, [Samuel Butler], “[The First Part of Hudibras]”, in Hudibras. The First and Second Parts. […], London: […] John Martyn and Henry Herringman, […], published 1678; republished in A[lfred] R[ayney] Waller, editor, Hudibras: Written in the Time of the Late Wars, Cambridge: University Press, 1905, →OCLC:
- This sturdy Squire, he had, as well
As the bold Trojan Knight, seen Hell.
- (colloquial, with on) Something extremely painful or harmful (to)
- That steep staircase is hell on my knees.
Derived termsEdit
- all hell breaks loose
- as all hell
- as heck
- as hell
- bastard operator from hell
- bleeding hell
- bloody hell
- blooming hell
- bullet hell
- burn in hell
- burn in hell
- by hell
- callback hell
- catch hell
- chuffing hell
- come hell or high water
- dammit to hell
- dependency hell
- development hell
- DLL hell
- Elo hell
- for the hell of it
- forty minutes of hell
- fresh hell
- from hell
- fucking hell
- gate of hell
- give someone hell
- go through hell
- go to hell
- harrowing of hell
- harrying of hell
- heck if I know
- heck knows
- heck yes
- hell and half of Georgia
- hell and Tommy
- hell for leather
- hell gate
- hell hath no fury like a woman scorned
- hell hole
- hell hound
- hell house
- hell if I care
- hell if I know
- hell if I know
- hell knows
- hell mend someone
- hell money
- hell night
- hell no
- hell of a
- hell on earth
- hell on wheels
- hell or high water
- hell strip
- hell to pay
- hell to the naw
- hell to the no
- hell week
- hell west and crooked
- hell yeah
- hell yes
- hell yes
- hell-bent
- hell-bent for leather
- hell-born
- hell-brewed
- hell-diver
- hell-fire
- hell-for-leather
- hell-hole
- hell-hound
- hell-raiser
- hell-rake
- hella
- hellagood
- hellbender
- hellburner
- hellcat
- hellish
- hellraiser
- hell's delight
- hellspawn
- hell’s bells
- holy hell
- hot as hell
- hot hell
- how the hell
- I'm going to hell for this
- in the hell
- JAR hell
- king-hell
- like a bat out of hell
- like hell
- like hell you say
- like merry hell
- living hell
- match made in hell
- no hell
- no screaming hell
- oh my hell
- pave the road to hell
- play merry hell with
- raise hell
- raise unshirted hell
- rake-hell
- rot in hell
- rot in hell
- see you in hell
- snowball's chance in hell
- snowflake's chance in hell
- sodding hell
- the heck
- the hell
- the hell out of
- the hell with it
- the hell you say
- the road to hell is paved with good intentions
- to hell and gone
- to hell in a handbasket
- to hell in a handcart
- to hell with
- until hell freezes over
- war is hell
- welcome to hell
- what the heck
- what the hell
- where the heck
- where the hell
- who the heck
- who the hell
TranslationsEdit
|
InterjectionEdit
hell
- (impolite, sometimes considered vulgar) Used to express discontent, unhappiness, or anger.
- Oh, hell! I got another parking ticket.
- c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene vii]:
- O hell! what have we here?
A carrion Death, within whose empty eye
There is a written scroll! […]
- (impolite, sometimes considered vulgar, non-productive) Used to emphasize.
- Hell, yeah!
- (impolite, sometimes considered vulgar) Used to introduce an intensified statement following an understated one; nay; not only that, but.
- Do it, or, rest assured, there will be no more Middle Eastern crisis – hell, there will be no more Middle East!
Derived termsEdit
TranslationsEdit
|
See alsoEdit
AdverbEdit
hell (not comparable)
- (postpositional) Alternative form of the hell or like hell.
- 1991, Stephen Fry, The Liar, London: Heinemann, →OCLC, page 35:
- ‘I know whether a boy is telling me the truth or not.’
‘Thank you, sir.’
Did he hell. They never bloody did.
- (Australia, impolite, sometimes considered vulgar) Very; used to emphasize strongly.
- That was hell good!
- They're hell sexy.
Etymology 2Edit
From German hellen (“to brighten, burnish”). Related to Dutch hel (“clear, bright”) and German hell (“clear, bright”).
VerbEdit
hell (third-person singular simple present hells, present participle helling, simple past and past participle helled)
- (rare, metal-working) To add luster to; 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.
- 1770, Godfrey Smith, The Laboratory: Or, School of Arts
ReferencesEdit
Etymology 3Edit
From Old Norse hella (“to pour”). Cognate with Icelandic hella (“to pour”), Norwegian helle (“to pour”), Swedish hälla (“to pour”). See also hield.
VerbEdit
hell (third-person singular simple present hells, present participle helling, simple past and past participle helled)
- (rare) To pour.
- 18th century, unknown author, The Harvest or Bashful Shepherd
- Gosh, the sickle went into me handː Down hell'd the bluid.
- 18th century, unknown author, The Harvest or Bashful Shepherd
ReferencesEdit
AlbanianEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Proto-Albanian *skōla, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kol- (“stake”); compare Lithuanian kuõlas, Polish kół, Ancient Greek σκύλος (skúlos).
NounEdit
hell m (indefinite plural heje, definite singular helli, definite plural hejet)
CornishEdit
NounEdit
hell
- Aspirate mutation of kell.
EstonianEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Proto-Finnic *hellä. Cognate to Finnish hellä and Votic elle.
AdjectiveEdit
hell (genitive hella, partitive hella, comparative hellem, superlative kõige hellem)
DeclensionEdit
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 |
GermanEdit
EtymologyEdit
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.
PronunciationEdit
AdjectiveEdit
hell (strong nominative masculine singular heller, comparative heller, superlative am hellsten)
- clear, bright, light
- Antonym: dunkel
- 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.
DeclensionEdit
number & gender | singular | plural | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
masculine | feminine | neuter | |||
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 |
number & gender | singular | plural | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
masculine | feminine | neuter | |||
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 |
number & gender | singular | plural | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
masculine | feminine | neuter | |||
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 |
Derived termsEdit
Related termsEdit
Further readingEdit
LuxembourgishEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Old High German hel, related to the verb hellan, from Proto-Germanic *hellaną (“to resound”). Cognate with German helle, Dutch hel.
PronunciationEdit
AdjectiveEdit
hell (masculine hellen, neuter hellt, comparative méi hell, superlative am hellsten)
DeclensionEdit
number and gender | singular | plural | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
masculine | feminine | neuter | all genders | ||
predicative | hien ass hell | si ass hell | et ass hell | si si(nn) hell | |
nominative / accusative |
attributive and/or after determiner | hellen | hell | hellt | hell |
independent without determiner | helles | heller | |||
dative | after any declined word | hellen | heller | hellen | hellen |
as first declined word | hellem | hellem |
Middle EnglishEdit
Proper nounEdit
hell
- Alternative form of helle
NounEdit
hell
- Alternative form of helle
Norwegian BokmålEdit
Etymology 1Edit
NounEdit
hell n (definite singular hellet, indefinite plural hell, definite plural hella or hellene)
Etymology 2Edit
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
VerbEdit
hell
- imperative of helle
Further readingEdit
- “hell” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
Norwegian NynorskEdit
EtymologyEdit
Ultimately from Old Norse heill.
NounEdit
hell n (definite singular hellet, indefinite plural hell, definite plural hella)
Further readingEdit
- “hell” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
Old EnglishEdit
Alternative formsEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Proto-West Germanic *hallju, from Proto-Germanic *haljō, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- (“to cover, hide, conceal”).
Compare German hell (“light”).
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
hell f
DeclensionEdit
Derived termsEdit
DescendantsEdit
SwedishEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Old Swedish heel, from Old Norse heill (“good omen, luck”, literally “whole, healthy”). Doublet of hel.
InterjectionEdit
hell
Derived termsEdit
- hell seger (“Sieg Heil”)