Where does “hel” come from?
hel (Icelandic) comes from Old Norse Hel, from Proto-Germanic haljō, from Proto-Indo-European ḱel- — to cover; to incline.
hel (Icelandic): hell , death
Ancestry of “hel”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old Norse | Hel | — |
| 2 | Proto-Germanic | haljō | the netherworld, the underworld, hell |
| 3 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱel- | to cover; to incline |