. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
you have here. The definition of the word
will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
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 noun
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!
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.
Synonyms
Antonyms
- (antonym(s) of "in many religions"): heaven
Translations
abode for the condemned
- Abkhaz: џьаҳаным (džaḥanəm)
- Afrikaans: hel
- Aghwan: 𐔲𐔴𐕆𐔴𐕎𐔰 (gehena)
- Akkadian: please add this translation if you can
- Albanian: ferr (sq) m, skëterrë (sq) f
- Amharic: ገሀነም (gähänäm)
- Arabic: جَهَنَّم f (jahannam), جَحِيم m (jaḥīm), النَّار f (an-nār, literally “the Fire”)
- Egyptian Arabic: جهنّم f (gahannam)
- Aramaic:
- Classical Syriac: ܓܝܗܢܐ f (gêhannā)
- Armenian: դժոխք (hy) (džoxkʻ)
- Assamese: নৰক (norok)
- Asturian: infiernu m
- Avar: жужахӏ (žužaḥʳ)
- Avestan: 𐬛𐬀𐬊𐬲𐬀𐬢𐬵 (daožaŋh), 𐬛𐬀𐬊𐬲𐬀𐬎𐬎𐬀 (daožauua)
- Azerbaijani: cəhənnəm (az)
- Cyrillic: ҹәһәннәм
- Baluchi: دوزه (dōzē)
- Bashkir: тамуҡ (tamuq), йәһәннәм (yəhənnəm)
- Basque: infernu
- Belarusian: ад m (ad), пе́кла n (pjékla), гее́на во́гненная f (hjejéna vóhnjennaja)
- Bengali: নরক (bn) (norok), জাহান্নাম (jahannam)
- Breton: ifern (br)
- Bulgarian: ад (bg) m (ad), пъ́къл (bg) m (pǎ́kǎl), дженде́м (bg) m (džendém) (archaic)
- Burmese: နရက် (my) (na.rak), ငရဲ (my) (nga.rai:)
- Buryat: тама (tama)
- Catalan: infern (ca) m
- Chechen: жоьжахати (žöžaxati)
- Cherokee: ᏨᏍᎩᏃ (tsvsgino)
- Chinese:
- Cantonese: 地獄/地狱 (dei6 juk6)
- Hakka: 地獄/地狱 (thi-ngiu̍k)
- Hokkien: 地獄/地狱 (zh-min-nan) (tē-ga̍k)
- Mandarin: 地獄/地狱 (zh) (dìyù)
- Chuvash: тамӑк (tamăk)
- Crimean Tatar: cehennem, ceennem
- Czech: peklo (cs) n
- Dalmatian: infiarn m
- Danish: helvede n
- Divehi: ނަރަކަ (naraka)
- Dongxiang: dozohei
- Dutch: hel (nl) f
- Esperanto: infero
- Estonian: põrgu (et)
- Faroese: helviti n
- Finnish: helvetti (fi), horna (fi)
- French: enfer (fr) m
- Friulian: infiêr m
- Galician: inferno (gl) m
- Georgian: ჯოჯოხეთი (ǯoǯoxeti)
- German: Hölle (de) f, Fegefeuer (de) n, Brand (de) m
- Greek: Κόλαση f (Kólasi), κόλαση (el) f (kólasi), γέεννα (el) f (géenna)
- Ancient: γέεννα f (géenna)
- Greenlandic: anniarfik
- Guaraní: añaretã
- Gujarati: નરક n (narak), જહન્નમ n (jahannam)
- Hawaiian: kehena
- Hebrew: גֵּיהִנּוֹם (he) m or f (gehinóm)
- Hindi: नरक (hi) m (narak), जहन्नम (hi) m (jahannam), यमलोक (hi) m (yamlok)
- Hittite: 𒋼𒂊𒈾𒌋𒉿𒀸 c (tēnawaš)
- Hungarian: pokol (hu)
- Icelandic: helvíti (is) n
- Ido: inferno (io)
- Igbo: ọkụ mmụọ
- Indonesian: neraka (id), jahanam (id)
- Ingrian: helvetti, aada, vaadu
- Ingush: жожагӏате (žožağate)
- Interlingua: inferno
- Inuktitut: ᐃᑯᒪᐊᓗᒃ (ikomaalok)
- Irish: ifreann (ga)
- Old Irish: ifernn m
- Italian: inferno (it) m
- Japanese: 地獄 (ja) (じごく, jigoku), 魔界 (ja) (まかい, makai), 奈落 (ja) (ならく, naraku)
- Kalmyk: там (tam)
- Kannada: ನರಕ (kn) (naraka)
- Kazakh: жаһаннам (jahannam), тозақ (tozaq), тамұқ (tamūq)
- Khmer: ឋាននរក (thaan nɔrŭək), នរក (km) (nɔrŭək), នរកកុណ្ឌ (km) (nĕəʼrĕəʼkaʼkon), និរៃ (nirɨy)
- Korean: 지옥(地獄) (ko) (jiok), 마계(魔界) (magye), 나락(奈落) (ko) (narak)
- Kurdish:
- Central Kurdish: جەھەنەم (cehenem), دۆزەخ (dozex), دۆژە (doje)
- Northern Kurdish: dûjeh (ku), cehnem (ku)
- Kyrgyz: тозок (ky) (tozok), жаанам (jaanam), жаханнам (ky) (jahannam) (rare)
- Lao: ນະລົກ (na lok), ນະຣົກ (na rok)
- Latgalian: eļne
- Latin: infernum n, Tartarus (la) m; gehenna
- Latvian: elle (lv) f, pekle f
- Lithuanian: pragaras m
- Low German: Helle f
- Luxembourgish: Häll f
- Macedonian: пекол m (pekol), џенем m (dženem) (archaic)
- Maguindanao: naraka
- Malay: neraka, jahanam
- Malayalam: നരകം (ml) (narakaṁ), ജഹന്നം (ml) (jahannaṁ)
- Maltese: infern m
- Manchu: ᡳᠯᠮᡠᠨ (ilmun)
- Maore Comorian: moro class 3
- Maranao: narka'
- Marathi: नर्क (narka)
- Middle English: helle
- Middle Persian: 𐭣𐭥𐭱𐭧𐭥𐭩 (dušox)
- Mongolian:
- Cyrillic: там (mn) (tam)
- Mongolian: ᠲᠠᠮᠤ (tamu)
- Mwali Comorian: moro class 3
- Navajo: chʼį́įdiitah
- Nepali: नरक (narak)
- Newar: नर्क (narka)
- Norman: enfé m
- Northern Sami: helvet
- Norwegian:
- Bokmål: helvete (no) n
- Nynorsk: helvete n
- Occitan: infèrn (oc) m
- Odia: ନର୍କ (or) (nôrkô)
- Old Church Slavonic:
- Cyrillic: адъ m (adŭ)
- Old East Slavic: адъ m (adŭ), пекло n (peklo)
- Old English: hell (ang) f
- Old Norse: helviti n
- Old Occitan: enfern m
- Old Saxon: hel
- Old Tupi: anhanga ratá
- Ottoman Turkish: جهنم (cehennem), طامو (tamu)
- Pali: naraka m
- Pashto: دوزخ (ps) m (dozax), دوږخ m (doẓax), دوژخ m (dožax), جوغاش (ps) m (joǧāš), جاندم (ps) m (jāndam), اورګړ m (orgaṛ)
- Persian: جَهَنَّم (fa) (jahannam), دوزَخ (fa) (duzax)
- Plautdietsch: Hal f
- Polish: piekło (pl) n
- Portuguese: inferno (pt) m
- Punjabi: ਨਰਕ (narak), ਜਹੰਨਮ (jahannam)
- Romanian: iad (ro) n, gheenă (ro) f, infern (ro) n
- Romansch: enfiern
- Russian: ад (ru) m (ad), преиспо́дняя (ru) f (preispódnjaja), пе́кло (ru) n (péklo), гее́нна о́гненная f (gejénna ógnennaja)
- Sanskrit: नरक (sa) m (naraka)
- Sardinian: iferru
- Saterland Frisian: Hälle f
- Scottish Gaelic: ifrinn f
- Serbo-Croatian:
- Cyrillic: па̀као m, ад m, џехѐнем m
- Roman: pàkao (sh) m, ad m, džehènem (sh) m
- Sicilian: nfernu (scn) m
- Sinhalese: නිරය (niraya)
- Slovak: peklo n
- Slovene: pekel (sl) m
- Sorbian:
- Lower Sorbian: hela f, pjakło n
- Upper Sorbian: hela f
- Southern Altai: таамы (taamï)
- Spanish: infierno (es) m
- Sranan Tongo: didibrikondre
- Sumerian: 𒆳 (KUR)
- Swahili: jahanamu class n, kuzimu (sw) class ku
- Swedish: helvete (sv) n
- Tabasaran: жегьеннем (žehennem)
- Tagalog: impiyerno
- Tajik: дӯзах (tg) (düzax), ҷаҳаннам (tg) (jahannam)
- Tamil: நரகம் (ta) (narakam), ஜஹன்னம் (jahaṉṉam)
- Tatar: җәһәннәм (tt) (cähännäm)
- Telugu: నరకం (te) (narakaṁ)
- Thai: นรก (th) (ná-rók)
- Tibetan: དམྱལ་བ (dmyal ba)
- Tigrinya: ገሃነም (gähanäm)
- Tocharian B: nrai
- Turkish: cehennem (tr), tamu (tr)
- Turkmen: dowzah, jähennem (tk)
- Udi: джаьгьаьннаьм (ǯähännäm)
- Udmurt: ад (ad), тамуг (tamug)
- Ugaritic: please add this translation if you can
- Ukrainian: ад (uk) m (ad), пе́кло n (péklo), геє́на вогне́нна f (hejéna vohnénna)
- Urdu: دوزَخ m (dozax), جَہَنَّم m (jahannam), نَرَک m (narak)
- Uyghur: دوزاخ (dozax), جەھەننەم (jehennem)
- Uzbek: doʻzax (uz), jahannam (uz)
- Vietnamese: địa ngục (vi) (地獄)
- Volapük: höl (vo)
- Welsh: uffern f
- West Frisian: hel f
- White Hmong: ntuj raug txim
- Yakut: үөдэн (üöden)
- Yiddish: גיהנום n (genem), גענעם n (genem)
- Yoruba: ọ̀run àpáàdì
- Zazaki: doze m, cahnım (diq) m
|
Noun
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, “Disposable Heroes”, in Metallica (music), Master of Puppets:Why, am I dying? / Kill, have no fear / Lie, live off lying / Hell, hell is here
- (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; 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.
- (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.
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], “”, 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.
- In certain games of chase, a place to which those who are caught are carried for detention.
- (colloquial, with on) Something extremely painful or harmful (to)
That steep staircase is hell on my knees.
Derived terms
Translations
place of suffering in life
- Albanian: skëterrë (sq)
- Arabic: جَحِيم (jaḥīm), جَهَنَّم f (jahannam)
- Armenian: դժոխք (hy) (džoxkʻ)
- Asturian: infiernu m
- Atong (India): norok
- Azerbaijani: cəhənnəm (az)
- Cyrillic: ҹәһәннәм
- Bashkir: тамуҡ (tamuq), йәһәннәм (yəhənnəm)
- Belarusian: пе́кла n (pjékla), ад m (ad)
- Bengali: নরক (bn) (norok), জাহান্নাম (jahannam)
- Bulgarian: ад (bg) m (ad), пъ́къл (bg) m (pǎ́kǎl), дженде́м (bg) m (džendém) (archaic)
- Burmese: နရက် (my) (na.rak), ငရဲ (my) (nga.rai:)
- Chinese:
- Cantonese: 地獄/地狱 (dei6 juk6)
- Hakka: 地獄/地狱 (thi-ngiu̍k)
- Hokkien: 地獄/地狱 (zh-min-nan) (tē-ga̍k)
- Mandarin: 地獄/地狱 (zh) (dìyù)
- Chuvash: тамӑк (tamăk)
- Czech: peklo (cs) n
- Danish: helvede n
- Dutch: hel (nl) f
- Esperanto: infero
- Estonian: põrgu (et)
- Finnish: helvetti (fi)
- French: enfer (fr) m
- Georgian: ჯოჯოხეთი (ǯoǯoxeti)
- German: Hölle (de) f
- Greek: κόλαση (el) f (kólasi)
- Hebrew: גֵּיהִנּוֹם (he) m or f (gehinóm)
- Hindi: नरक (hi) m (narak), जहन्नम (hi) m (jahannam), यमलोक (hi) m (yamlok)
- Hungarian: pokol (hu)
- Icelandic: helvíti (is) n
- Indonesian: neraka (id), jahanam (id)
- Interlingua: inferno
- Irish: ifreann (ga) m
- Italian: inferno (it) m
- Japanese: 地獄 (ja) (じごく, jigoku)
- Kazakh: тамұқ (tamūq), жаһаннам (jahannam), тозақ (tozaq)
- Khmer: ឋាននរក (thaan nɔrŭək), នរក (km) (nɔrŭək), នរកកុណ្ឌ (km) (nĕəʼrĕəʼkaʼkon), និរៃ (nirɨy)
- Korean: 지옥(地獄) (ko) (jiok)
- Kyrgyz: тозок (ky) (tozok), жаанам (jaanam), жаханнам (ky) (jahannam) (rare)
- Lao: ນະລົກ (na lok), ນະຣົກ (na rok)
- Latvian: elle (lv) f
- Lithuanian: pragaras m
- Macedonian: пекол m (pekol), џенем m (dženem) (archaic)
- Malay: neraka, jahanam
- Mongolian:
- Cyrillic: там (mn) (tam)
- Mongolian: ᠲᠠᠮᠤ (tamu)
- Northern Sami: helvet
- Norwegian:
- Bokmål: helvete (no) n
- Nynorsk: helvete n
- Old English: hell (ang) f
- Oromo: jaannama
- Ottoman Turkish: جهنم (cehennem), طامو (tamu)
- Persian: جَهَنَّم (fa) (jahannam), دوزَخ (fa) (duzax)
- Polish: piekło (pl) n
- Portuguese: inferno (pt) m
- Russian: ад (ru) m (ad)
- Saterland Frisian: Hälle f
- Scottish Gaelic: Ifrinn f
- Serbo-Croatian:
- Cyrillic: па̀као m, ад m, џехѐнем m
- Roman: pàkao (sh) m, ad m, džehènem (sh) m
- Sicilian: nfernu (scn) m
- Slovak: peklo n
- Slovene: pekel (sl) m
- Spanish: infierno (es) m
- Swahili: motoni, jahanamu
- Swedish: helvete (sv) n
- Tajik: дӯзах (tg) (düzax), ҷаҳаннам (tg) (jahannam)
- Tatar: җәһәннәм (tt) (cähännäm)
- Telugu: నరకం (te) (narakaṁ)
- Thai: นรก (th) (ná-rók)
- Turkish: cehennem (tr), tamu (tr)
- Turkmen: dowzah, jähennem (tk)
- Ukrainian: пе́кло n (péklo), ад (uk) m (ad)
- Urdu: دوزَخ m (dozax), جَہَنَّم m (jahannam), نَرَک m (narak)
- Uyghur: دوزاخ (dozax), جەھەننەم (jehennem)
- Uzbek: doʻzax (uz), jahannam (uz)
- Volapük: höl (vo)
- West Frisian: Hel f
- Yiddish: גיהנום n (genem), גענעם n (genem)
|
Interjection
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 Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, :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 terms
Translations
See also
Adverb
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.
- Synonym: hella
That was hell good!
They're hell sexy.
Verb
hell (third-person singular simple present hells, present participle helling, simple past and past participle helled)
- To make hellish; to place (someone) in hell; to make (a place) into a hell.
- To hurry, rush.
1929, William Faulkner, The Sound and the Fury:I had already lost thirteen points, all because she had to come helling in there at twelve, worrying me about that letter.
Etymology 2
From German hellen (“to brighten, burnish”). Related to Dutch hel (“clear, bright”) and German hell (“clear, bright”).
Verb
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.
References
Etymology 3
From Middle English hellen, from Old Norse hella (“to pour”), from Proto-Germanic *halþijaną (“to incline, tip; to pour out, empty”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- (“to lean, incline”). Cognate with Icelandic hella (“to pour”), Norwegian helle (“to pour”), Swedish hälla (“to pour”). See also English hield.
Verb
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.
References
Albanian
Etymology
From Proto-Albanian *skōla, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kol- (“stake”); compare Lithuanian kuõlas, Polish kół, Ancient Greek σκύλος (skúlos).
Noun
hell m (plural heje, definite helli, definite plural hejet)
- skewer
- spear
- icicle
- (adverb) standing straight without moving
Cornish
Noun
hell
- Aspirate mutation of kell.
Estonian
Etymology
From Proto-Finnic *hellä. Cognate to Finnish hellä and Votic elle.
Adjective
hell (genitive hella, partitive hella, comparative hellem, superlative kõige hellem)
- tender, gentle
Declension
German
Etymology
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
Adjective
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.
Declension
Comparative forms of hell
Superlative forms of hell
Derived terms
Related terms
Further reading
- “hell” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
- “hell” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
- “hell” in Duden online
Luxembourgish
Etymology
From Old High German hel, related to the verb hellan, from Proto-Germanic *hellaną (“to resound”). Cognate with German helle, Dutch hel.
Pronunciation
Adjective
hell (masculine hellen, neuter hellt, comparative méi hell, superlative am hellsten)
- clear, bright
- light, pale
Declension
Middle English
Proper noun
hell
- Alternative form of helle
Noun
hell
- Alternative form of helle
Norwegian Bokmål
Etymology 1
From Old Norse heill.
Noun
hell n (definite singular hellet, indefinite plural hell, definite plural hella or hellene)
- luck
Etymology 2
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Verb
hell
- imperative of helle
Further reading
- “hell” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
Norwegian Nynorsk
Etymology
Ultimately from Old Norse heill.
Noun
hell n (definite singular hellet, indefinite plural hell, definite plural hella)
- luck
Further reading
- “hell” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
Old English
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Proto-West Germanic *hallju, from Proto-Germanic *haljō, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- (“to cover, hide, conceal”).
Compare German hell (“light”).
Pronunciation
Noun
hell f
- hell
Declension
Declension of hell (strong ō-stem)
Derived terms
Descendants
Swedish
Etymology
From Old Swedish heel, from Old Norse heill (“good omen, luck”, literally “whole, healthy”). Doublet of hel.
Interjection
hell
- (archaic) hail (exclamation or greeting)
Derived terms
References