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Webster 1913 Edition

Hell

Hell

,
Noun.
[AS.
hell
; akin to D.
hel
, OHG.
hella
, G.
hölle
, Icel.
hal
, Sw.
helfvete
, Dan.
helvede
, Goth.
halja
, and to AS.
helan
to conceal. [GREEK][GREEK][GREEK]. Cf.
Hele
,
Verb.
T.
,
Conceal
,
Cell
,
Helmet
,
Hole
,
Occult
.]
1.
The place of the dead, or of souls after death; the grave; – called in Hebrew sheol, and by the Greeks hades.
He descended into
hell
.
Book of Common Prayer.
Thou wilt not leave my soul in
hell
.
Ps. xvi. 10.
2.
The place or state of punishment for the wicked after death; the abode of evil spirits. Hence, any mental torment; anguish.
“Within him hell.”
Milton.
It is a knell
That summons thee to heaven or to
hell
.
Shakespeare
3.
A place where outcast persons or things are gathered
; as:
(a)
A dungeon or prison; also, in certain running games, a place to which those who are caught are carried for detention.
(b)
A gambling house.
“A convenient little gambling hell for those who had grown reckless.”
W. Black.
(c)
A place into which a tailor throws his shreds, or a printer his broken type.
Hudibras.
Gates of hell
.
(Script.)
See
Gate
,
Noun.
, 4.

Hell

,
Verb.
T.
To overwhelm.
[Obs.]
Spenser.

Webster 1828 Edition

Hell

HELL

,
Noun.
1.
The place or state of punishment for the wicked after death. Matt.10. Luke 12.
Sin is hell begun, as religion is heaven anticipated.
2.
The place of the dead, or of souls after death; the lower regions, or the grave; called in Hebrew, sheol, and by the Greeks, hades. Ps. 16. Jon.2.
3.
The pains of hell, temporal death, or agonies that dying persons feel, or which bring to the brink of the grave. Ps.18.
4.
The gates of hell, the power and policy of Satan and his instruments. Matt.16.
5.
The infernal powers.
While Saul and hell cross'd his strong fate in vain.
6.
The place at a running play to which are carried those who are caught.
7.
A place into which a tailor throws his shreds.
8.
A dungeon or prison.

Definition 2024

Hell

****

See also: **** and he'll

English

Proper noun

****

  1. Alternative spelling of Hel
  2. Alternative spelling of Hela
  3. Alternative letter-case form of ****
  4. Any of various towns so named.

hell

****

See also: he'll and ****

English

Alternative forms

Proper noun

****

  1. In various religions, the place where some or all spirits are believed to go after death
    Some religious people believe that all the followers of the other religions go to ****.
  2. (Abrahamic religions, uncountable) The place where devils live and where sinners are tortured after death
    May you rot in ****!
    • 1667, John Milton, Paradise Lost
      Better to reign in **** than serve in Heaven.
    • 1916, James Joyce, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
      **** is a strait and dark and foul-smelling prison, an abode of demons and lost souls, filled with fire and smoke.
Synonyms
  • See Wikisaurus:afterlife
Antonyms
  • (in Abrahamic religions, uncountable): heaven
Translations

Noun

**** ‎(countable and uncountable, plural hells)

  1. (countable, hyperbolic, sometimes considered vulgar) A place or situation of great suffering in life.
    My new boss is making my job a ****.
    I went through **** 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 ****.
    • 1986, Metallica (music), “Disposable Heroes”, in Master of Puppets:
      Why, am I dying? / Kill, have no fear / Lie, live off lying / ****, **** is here
  2. (countable) A place for gambling.
    • W. Black
      a convenient little gambling **** for those who had grown reckless
    • 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 ****.
  4. Used as an intensifier in phrases grammatically requiring a noun
    I'm as mad as **** and I'm not going to take it any more.
    What the **** is wrong with you?
    He says he's going home early? Like **** he is.
  5. (obsolete) A place into which a tailor throws his shreds, or a printer his 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
Translations

Interjection

****

  1. (impolite, sometimes considered vulgar) Used to express discontent, unhappiness, or anger.
    Oh, ****! I got another parking ticket.‎
  2. (impolite, sometimes considered vulgar) Used to emphasize.
    ****, 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 – ****, there will be no more Middle East!‎
See also
Translations

Etymology 2

From German hellen ‎(“to brighten, burnish”). Cognate with Dutch hel ‎(“clear, bright”) and German **** ‎(“clear, bright”).

Verb

**** ‎(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).
    • G. Smith (1799)
      To **** gold or gilt workː take two ounces of tartar, two ounces of sulfur.. and it will give it a fine luster.
References

Etymology 3

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

Verb

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

  1. (rare) To pour.
    • Harvest (1821)
      Gosh, the sickle went into me handː Down ****'d the blood.
References

Albanian

Etymology

From Proto-Albanian *skōla, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kol- ‘stake’ (compare Lithuanian kuõlas, Polish kóɫ, Ancient Greek skýlos ‎(skýlos)).

Noun

**** m

  1. skewer
  2. spear
  3. icicle

Cornish

Noun

****

  1. Aspirate mutation of kell.

Estonian

Etymology

Of Finnic origin. Cognate to Finnish ****ä and Votic ellä.

Adjective

**** ‎(genitive hella, partitive hella)

  1. tender, gentle

Declension

German

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /hɛl/

Etymology

Cognate with Dutch hel.

Adjective

**** ‎(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 **** 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

Comparative forms of ****
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

Antonyms

Derived terms

Luxembourgish

Etymology

From Old High German hel. Cognate with German helle, Dutch hel.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /hæl/
  • Rhymes: -æl
  • Homophone: Häll

Adjective

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

  1. clear, bright
  2. light, pale

Declension

Norwegian

Noun

**** n

  1. luck

Norwegian Bokmål

Verb

****

  1. imperative of helle

Old English

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *haljō, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- ‎(“to cover, hide, conceal”). Cognate with Old Frisian helle, hille, Old Saxon hel, hellia, Old Dutch hella, Old High German hella, hellia, Old Norse hel, Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌻𐌾𐌰 ‎(halja).

Compare ****, German for "light".

Noun

**** f

  1. ****

Derived terms

Descendants

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

  • enPR: hĕl, IPA(key): /hɛl/
  • Rhymes: -ɛl

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