hall English · revision 2803

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 725, Beowulf|origins=ine-pro *ḱel-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /hɔːl/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|halle]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) [[inh|ang|heall|t=a spacious roofed residence; a temple; a law court]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[gem-pro|*hallō|t=covered place, hall]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[ine-pro|*ḱel-|alt=*kel-|t=to cover, conceal, save]].^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000) It is cognate with Old Saxon and Old High German halla, Dutch hal, German Halle and Old Norse hǫll,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) and related to Old English hell, the source of [[hell]],^(Etymonline) to Latin cella, the source of [[cell]], and to Greek kalía “hut”.^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) French halle and Italian alla are from Middle High German.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A place covered by a roof, a large roofed residence or temple: about 725, in ''Beowulf''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Old English heall meant any large place under a roof, whether a royal residence, an official building or the main room of a house where the public life of the household went on.^(AHD 2000)^(Etymonline) The large public room of a mansion or palace, for receptions and banquets, is from about 1200,^(OED 1989) and the residence of a landowner, as in ''manor hall'', from about 1000.^(OED 1989) At Oxford and Cambridge a hall was a residence of students from 1379,^(OED 1989) and the large dining room of a college from 1577.^(OED 1989) The sense “passageway, entrance room” evolved in the 17th century, when the doors of private rooms opened onto the hall;^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000) as private rooms grew in importance, the hall lost its function and shrank to a vestibule or corridor.^(AHD 2000) The older sense survives in ''town hall'', ''music hall'' and ''study hall''.^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000) ''Hall of fame'' is from 1786 as an abstract idea, and in the sporting sense from 1901.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – Old English heall.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1000 – a manor house.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1200 – the large room of a mansion.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1379 – a students' residence.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1577 – a college dining hall.^(OED 1989)

+ * 17th century – a passage, entrance room.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1786 – ''hall of fame''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[corridor]] or passageway in a building.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # The room just inside the front door of a house; a [[vestibule]] or [[lobby]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A large room or building for public meetings or entertainment: ''a concert hall''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A building used by a university for living, teaching or dining: ''a hall of residence''.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # The manor house of a landed estate.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[guildhall]]

+ * [[hallmark]]

+ * [[hallway]]

+ * [[Whitehall]]

+ * [[beer hall]]

+ * [[borough hall]]

+ * [[city hall]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[hell]]

+ * [[cell]]

+ * [[conceal]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}