Etymology and origin of the Proto-West Germanic word *hail
*hail1 healthy, sound, whole
- Confidence
- Established
- Formation
- Inherited
- Inherited from
- Proto-Germanic *hailaz
- Ultimate origin
- Proto-Indo-European *kéh₂ilos
Etymology tree of *hail1
From the same root · *hail1
Reconstruction
Ringe and Taylor reconstruct the adjective *hail for Proto-West Germanic,[1] and Wiktionary has the same form.[2]
Etymology
It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *hailaz (“healthy, sound”),[1] which Kroonen and Heidermanns cite by its stem *haila-.[3][4]
Morphology
An adjective.[1] Heidermanns counts it among the primary adjectives, with no verb at its base.[4] It was used in the greeting *(wes þū) hail "(be) healthy", Old English hāl wes þū, Old High German heil,[1] and Heidermanns finds it common in greetings in all the languages.[4]
Evidence
The adjective is attested in all the West Germanic languages: Old English hāl, Old Frisian hēl, Old Saxon hēl and Old High German heil,[1] and Old Dutch hēl in the North Lower Rhenish blood charm of 1001–1050.[5] Looijenga reads ⟨haleþewas⟩ on the scabbard mount of Bergakker in Gelderland, dated about 425, as a personal name in the genitive; its first part might be ⟨hāle-⟩ from Germanic *hail- "whole, safe, unhurt", or else a word for "spear".[6] Gamillscheg reports Suchier's view that the h- of Old French haliegre (“lively”), recorded from the 12th century, comes from the influence of Frankish *hail, *hel; he adds that it may simply be a sign of strong feeling.[7]
Meanings
Heidermanns takes the basic meaning to be "bodily healthy, unhurt".[4] EWA thinks the reverse development much more likely: a word of the pre-Christian magical and religious sphere, "full of luck or blessing", passed into everyday use.[8]
Derivatives
- *hailattjan "to greet", formed from the greeting: Old English hālettan, Old High German heilezzen.[1]
- *hailisōn "to prognosticate, to augur": Old English hālsian, Old High German heilisōn.[9] Kroonen lists these verbs with the adjective.[3]
- *hailag "holy": Old Frisian hēlech, Old Saxon hēlag, Old High German heilag.[10]
Reflexes
*hail2 omen, portent
- Confidence
- Probable
- Formation
- Inherited
- Inherited from
- Proto-Germanic *hailaz
- Ultimate origin
- Proto-Indo-European *kéh₂ilos
Etymology tree of *hail2
From the same root · *hail2
Reconstruction
Wiktionary reconstructs a noun *hail "omen, portent".[2]
Etymology
It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *hailaz2 (“omen”).[2] For the Proto-Germanic noun, EWA sets up an s-stem *χai̯liz-, *-az-, beside which Old Norse and Old English have a feminine i-stem;[8] Heidermanns also takes it for a neuter s-stem,[4] and Köbler for a neuter a-stem *hailam.[14]
Morphology
A neuter noun.[15][8] The Old English dative singular hǣlor is a trace of the s-stem;[4][8] in Old High German the noun is an a-stem.[8]
Evidence
The noun is attested as Old English hǣl "favourable omen",[15] Old Saxon hēl, glossing Latin omen in 11th-century glosses,[16] and Old High German heil, from the 8th century.[8] The Middle Franconian Psalms have heil for Latin salus.[17]
Competing analyses
Whether the noun belongs with the adjective is disputed.[4][8] Heidermanns separates it: the neuter s-stem is not directly related to the adjective, and he compares Welsh coel (“sign, omen”) and probably Ancient Greek κοῖλυ (koîlu).[4] Kroonen too holds Latin caelum (“sky”) and the Celtic words for "omen" to be unrelated to the adjective *haila-.[3] EWA rejects the separation, which it finds in Kluge and Heidermanns: it explains the sense "favourable omen" as a concrete sign of luck, and doubts that the Greek gloss belongs here at all.[8] Holthausen connects Old English hǣl with the adjective hāl and compares the Welsh word,[15] and Wiktionary calls the noun probably of similar derivation to the adjective.[2]
Meanings
- omen, portent[2]
Old High German also used the noun for "luck, salvation, health",[8] and Old English for "safety, luck".[18]
Reflexes
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 129
- ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *hail
- ^ a b c d Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 200
- ^ a b c d e f g h Heidermanns, Frank (1993), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der germanischen Primäradjektive, Berlin / New York: De Gruyter, p. s.v. haila-
- ^ a b Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org, p. s.v. hēl
- ^ Looijenga, Tineke (2003), Texts and Contexts of the Oldest Runic Inscriptions, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. Bergakker
- ^ Gamillscheg, Ernst (1966–1969), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der französischen Sprache, 2nd, fully revised ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 37
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Lloyd, Albert L.; Springer, Otto; Lühr, Rosemarie, et al. (1988–), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Althochdeutschen, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht; online ewa.saw-leipzig.de, p. s.v. heil
- ^ Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 131
- ^ Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 335
- ^ Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. hāl
- ^ Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. hēl
- ^ Berr, Samuel (1971), An Etymological Glossary to the Old Saxon Heliand, Berne / Frankfurt: Herbert Lang, p. 188
- ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *haila-, *hailam
- ^ a b c d Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. hǣl
- ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. hêl
- ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard, Altniederfränkisches Wörterbuch, online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *heil?
- ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. hǣl
Related etymologies
Cite this entry
“*hail.” Etymologically, 16 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/gmw-pro/*hail. Accessed 16 Nov. 2026.
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