Etymology Explorer › Danish

Where does “hel” come from?

hel (Danish) comes from Old Norse Hel, from Proto-Germanic haljō, from Proto-Indo-European ḱel- — to cover; to incline.

hel (Danish): whole, entire, complete, full; whole, intact,...

Definitions

  1. whole, entire, complete, full; whole, intact,...

Ancestry of “hel”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old NorseHel—
2Proto-Germanichaljōthe netherworld, the underworld, hell
3Proto-Indo-Europeanḱel-to cover; to incline

Words derived from “hel”

  • helt
  • heltinde
  • heltal
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ḱel- →