Where does “hel” come from?
hel (Old Saxon) comes from Proto-West Germanic hail, from Proto-Germanic hailaz, from Proto-Indo-European *kéh₂ilos.
hel (Old Saxon): hell; whole, hale; omen
Ancestry of “hel”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Proto-West Germanic | hail | healthy, sound; whole; omen, portent |
| 2 | Proto-Germanic | hailaz | whole, unbroken, intact; entire, complete; hale,... |
| 3 | Proto-Indo-European | *kéh₂ilos | — |