Where does “Hell” come from?

Hell (English) comes from German hellen, from Middle High German hëllen, from Old High German hëllan, from Proto-Germanic hellaną, from Proto-Indo-European ḱelh₁- — to warm up, to be hot; to warm up, be hot.

Hell (English): Any of various places so named

Definitions

  1. Any of various places so named

Ancestry of “Hell”, step by step

Hell traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via German hellen

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germanhellento brighten
2Middle High Germanhëllento sound, to resound, to ring out; to echo
3Old High Germanhëllan—
4Proto-Germanichellanąto resound, make a sound
5Proto-Indo-Europeanḱelh₁-to warm up, to be hot; to warm up, be hot

via Middle English helle

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishhelleHell the Christian place of damnation
2Old Englishhellhell
3Proto-West Germanichalljuthe netherworld, the underworld, hell
4Proto-Germanichaljōthe netherworld, the underworld, hell
5Proto-Indo-Europeanḱel-to cover; to incline

Words derived from “Hell”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European ḱelh₁- →