hel

From Old Cornish hel, from Old English heall, hall (“hall”), from Proto-West Germanic *hallu, from Proto-Germanic *hallō, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- (“to cover”). Compare Welsh hâl.

hel f (plural helyow or helow)

1. hall

From Old Cornish hail, from Proto-Celtic *saglo-, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *seǵʰ-. Cognate with Breton and Welsh hael.

hel

1. benevolent, generous, hospitable, liberal

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

hel f

1. Revived Late Cornish spelling of hedhel (“plough handle, plough staff”)

• “hel” in Cornish Dictionary / Gerlyver Kernewek, Akademi Kernewek.

• IPA^(key): /heːˀl/, [ˈhe̝ˀl]

From Old Norse heill, from Proto-Germanic *hailaz (“whole, sound”), cognate with English whole, German heil, Dutch heel, Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌹𐌻𐍃 (hails).

hel (neuter helt, plural and definite singular attributive hele)

1. whole, entire, complete, full (undivided, with all elements)
2. whole, intact, undamaged (not broken)
3. the hour, top of the hour (at the start of a new hour)
4. entire (Used to indicate that an amount is considered large.)
   • 2012, Jan Sonnergaard, Trilogien, Gyldendal A/S, →ISBN:

     Man kan være så frygteligt alene i måneder, hele måneder ad gangen, og gøre stort set alt hvad der står i éns magt for at komme i kontakt.

     One can be so terribly alone for months, entire months at a time, and do practically anything in one's power to get in contact.

   • 2012, Ib Melchior, Spionjæger - en dansk kontraspions bedrifter i den amerikanske hær under 2. verdenskrig, Lindhardt og Ringhof, →ISBN:

     Jeg så en mand, der holdt sin Soldbuch frem til samtlige GI'er, der gik forbi i en hel halv time, og ingen tog notits af ham.

     I saw a man who held out his Soldbuch to every single GI who want past him for an entire half hour, and no one took any notice of him.

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

hel

1. imperative of hele

• IPA^(key): /ɦɛl/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: hel
• Rhymes: -ɛl

From Middle Dutch helle, from Old Dutch hella, from Proto-West Germanic *hallju, from Proto-Germanic *haljō, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- (“to cover, hide, conceal”).

hel f (plural hellen, diminutive helletje n)

1. (religion, mythology) hell, an infernal afterlife

   Synonyms: poel, jammerpoel

   Ik hoop dat je zal branden in de hel. ― I hope you will burn in hell.

2. (figurative) a terrible place or ordeal

   Hij maakte daarmee haar leven tot een hel. ― With that he made her life into a hell.

• Negerhollands: hel, hei

Probably borrowed from German hell (“shining, very light”).

hel (comparative heller, superlative helst)

2. bright

   Synonym: helder

Declension of hel
uninflected	hel
inflected	helle
comparative	heller
		positive	comparative	superlative
predicative/adverbial		hel	heller	het helst het helste
indefinite	m./f. sing.	helle	hellere	helste
	n. sing.	hel	heller	helste
	plural	helle	hellere	helste
definite		helle	hellere	helste
partitive		hels	hellers	—

See hal.

hel n or f (plural hellen, diminutive helletje n)

1. alternative form of hal (“frozen spot”)

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

hel

1. inflection of hellen:
   1. first-person singular present indicative
   2. (in case of inversion) second-person singular present indicative
   3. imperative

• van Veen, P.A.F.; van der Sijs, Nicoline (1997), Etymologisch woordenboek: de herkomst van onze woorden (in Dutch), Utrecht; Antwerpen: Van Dale Lexicografie, →ISBN

From Old Norse hel, from Proto-Germanic *haljō, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- (“to cover, hide, conceal”).

• IPA^(key): /hɛːl/
• Rhymes: -ɛːl

hel f (genitive singular heljar, no plural)

1. hell (underworld), death

• The dative helju also occurs, mainly in the phrase heimta úr helju.
• The word is normally not used with suffixed article, but the genitive definite form, heljarinnar, occurs as an intensifier (meaning something like “hell of a”).

• helvíti

From Early Modern Limburgish hèl, from Middle Dutch helle.

• hèl (older variant, Moelingen)
• Höll (Eupen, Krefeld)
• Héll (Eupen)

hel f

1. hell
2. (figuratively) a bad place to be

   Synonym: verdommenis

From earlier helle.

• héll (Eupen)
• hell (Krefeld)

hel (comparative helder, superlative hels, predicative superlative 't hèls)

1. hard, tough, difficult
2. hard, rough, pointed
3. hard, heavy
4. hard, solid
5. loud

hel

1. alternative form of hele (“health”)

hel

1. alternative form of helle

hel f

1. solution

• çare
• çareserî

From Old Norse heill (“whole, complete”), from Proto-Germanic *hailaz.

• heil

hel (neuter singular helt, definite singular and plural hele)

1. whole, unbroken

   Hun har ikke røykt på en hel uke.

   She hasn't smoked for a whole week.

   Jeg vet ikke, hele denne greia virker litt risikabel for meg.

   I don't know, this whole thing seems a little risky to me.

   Jeg tror ikke han forstår hvorfor, Harry, men han hadde det så travelt med å kveste sin egen sjel at han aldri tok seg tid til å forstå den uforliknelige kraft i en sjel som er uplettet og hel. (from page 463 of the Norwegian translation of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry Potter og Halvblodsprinsen)

   I do not think he understands why, Harry, but he was in such a hurry to mutilate his own soul, he never paused to understand the incomparable power of a soul that is untarnished and whole. (from page 478 of the original British version of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince)

2. pure, all

   Jeg fikk tak i en genser i hel ull, den blir god å ha når vinteren kommer.

   I got myself a pure wool sweater, it'll come in handy when winter arrives.

3. (used as a noun) it, all of it, the whole/entire thing

   Og det beste ved det hele er at jeg slipper å se deg i to, hele måneder!

   And the best part of it is that I don't have to see you for two whole months!

whole, unbroken, pure

See also terms derived from heil

hel

1. imperative of hele

• “hel” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
• “hel” in The Ordnett Dictionary
• Harry Potter og Halvblodsprinsen, →ISBN. Norwegian translation of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by Torstein Bugge Høverstad.
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, →ISBN, by J.K. Rowling

From Old Norse hel, from Proto-Germanic *haljō, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- (“to cover, hide, conceal”). Cognate with Faroese and Icelandic hel.

• IPA^(key): [hɛ̝ːl], [hɛ̝ːɽ]
• Homophone: Hel

hel f

1. death, underworld

   i hel ― to death

2. (Norse mythology) Hel (the realm of the dead who did not die in combat)

   Synonyms: helheim, daudeheim, dauderike

• i hel

• “hel” in The Ordnett Dictionary
• “hel” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

From Proto-West Germanic *hail, from Proto-Germanic *hailaz.

hēl

1. healthy, wholesome

• gisunt

• Middle Dutch: hêel
  • Dutch: heel
    • Afrikaans: heel
    • Berbice Creole Dutch: hele
    • Negerhollands: heel, hele, helle
    • Skepi Creole Dutch: helwel, he
    • → Saramaccan: híi
    • → Sranan Tongo: eri, heri, hele, heele, herheri
  • Limburgish: heil

• “hēl”, in Oudnederlands Woordenboek, 2012

• hell

• IPA^(key): /xel/, [hel]

hel f

1. alternative form of hell

Strong ō-stem:

From Proto-West Germanic *hail, from Proto-Germanic *hailaz, from Proto-Indo-European *kéh₂ilos. Cognates include Old English hāl, Old Saxon hēl and Old Dutch heil.

• IPA^(key): /ˈheːl/, [ˈhɛːl]

hēl

1. whole

• Saterland Frisian: heel
• West Frisian: hiel

• Bremmer, Rolf H. (2009), An Introduction to Old Frisian: History, Grammar, Reader, Glossary, Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company, →ISBN

From Proto-Germanic *haljō. Doublet of Hel.

hel f (genitive heljar, dative helju)

1. (Germanic paganism) the underworld, personified the goddess of the same name
2. (Christianity) Hell

• helvíti

• Icelandic: hel
• Faroese: hel
• Norwegian Nynorsk: hel
  • → Norwegian Bokmål: hel
• ⇒ Old Norse: í hel
  • Icelandic: í hel
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: i hel, ihel-
  • Old Swedish: i häl, ihiäl
    • Swedish: ihjäl, ihäl
  • Old Danish: i hæl, i hiel
    • Danish: ihjel
      • Norwegian Bokmål: i hjel, ihjel-

• Zoëga, Geir T. (1910), “hel”, in A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press; also available at the Internet Archive

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

hel f

1. hell

• hellja, hellia

• Middle Low German: helle
  • German Low German: Helle, Hölle, Hell, Höll
  • Westphalian:

    Sauerländisch: Helle

    Westmünsterländisch: Helle f, Hell m

  • Plautdietsch: Hal

From Proto-West Germanic *hail, from Proto-Germanic *hailaz.

hēl

1. whole, hale

• Middle Low German: hêl, heil
  • Low German: hel, heel, heil

From Proto-West Germanic *hail, from Proto-Germanic *hailaz, a noun of similar derivation to the above adjective.

hēl n

1. omen

• hēli f

• Middle Low German: hēl

From Dutch geel.

hel

1. yellow

Chemical element
He
Previous: wodór (H)
Next: lit (Li)

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛl
• Syllabification: hel
• Homophone: Hel

Learned borrowing from New Latin hēlium.

hel m inan (related adjective helowy)

1. helium (second lightest chemical element (symbol He) with an atomic number of 2 and atomic weight of 4.002602, a colorless, odorless, and inert noble gas)

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “Perhaps related to Hel”)

hel m inan

1. (Kociewie, Malbork) airy, high place

• hél (Kociewie)

• hel in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• hel in Polish dictionaries at PWN
• hel in PWN's encyclopedia
• Dr Nadmorski (Józef Łęgowski) (1889), “hel”, in “Spis wyrazów właściwych gwarze malborskiej i kociewskiej”, in Wisła. Miesięcznik Geograficzno-Etnograficzny (in Polish), volume 3 z.4, page 744

hel

1. to like
2. to find

From Old Norse heill, from Proto-Germanic *hailaz.

• IPA^(key): /heːl/, [ˈheə̯l̪]

• Audio:

  (file)

hel (comparative helare, superlative helast)

1. (only attributively) (the) whole

   Hela huset brann ner

   The whole house burned down

   Jag skulle kunna äta en hel elefant

   I could eat an entire elephant

2. whole (intact, not broken)

   Fönstret är helt

   The window isn't broken

3. (as a prefix) completely, totally, full, whole

• en hel del
• helböj
• helrör

• helt

• hel in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• hel in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• hel in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

• IPA^(key): /hɛl/
• Rhymes: -ɛl

From Proto-Celtic *selgā, from Proto-Indo-European *selǵ- (“let loose, send”). Cognate with Old Irish selg.^[1]

• hela, hely, hala

hel (first-person singular present helaf, not mutable)

1. (North Wales) to send, to drive

   Synonyms: danfon, gyrru, anfon

2. (North Wales) to chase, to pursue

   Synonyms: erlid, ymlid

3. (North Wales) to collect, to gather

   Synonyms: casglu, crynhoi

4. (North Wales) to frequent, to visit often

   ymweld

• hel ei damaid (“to earn one's crust”)
• hel esgusion (“to make excuses”)
• helgi (“hound”)
• helwr (“hunter”)

• hala

hel

1. h-prothesized form of el

From Old Frisian helle, from Proto-West Germanic *hallju.

• IPA^(key): /hɛl/

hel c (plural [please provide])

1. hell

• “hel”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011

From Middle English halle, from Old English hol.

• IPA^(key): /hɛl/

hel

1. hollow

• Hel-teoun

• Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828), William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 45