Hell etymology

English

English word hell comes from Proto-Indo-European *ḱer-, and later Proto-Germanic *helaną (To hide, to conceal.)

Detailed word origin of hell

Dictionary entry Language Definition
*ḱer- Proto-Indo-European (ine)
*helaną Proto-Germanic (gem-pro) To hide, to conceal.
*haljō Proto-Germanic (gem-pro) The netherworld, the underworld, hell.
hell Old English (ang) Hell.
helle Middle English (enm)
hell English (en) (countable) A place for gambling.. (countable, hyperbole) A place or situation of great suffering in life.. (obsolete) A place into which a tailor throws his shreds, or a printer his broken type.. An extremely hot place.. In certain games of chase, a place to which those who are caught are carried for detention.. Used as an intensifier in phrases grammatically requiring a noun (impolite, [...]

Words with the same origin as hell