Etymology Explorer › Scots

Where does “hail” come from?

hail (Scots) comes from Old English hāl, from Proto-West Germanic hail, from Proto-Germanic hailaz, from Proto-Indo-European *kéh₂ilos.

hail (Scots): whole; free or recovered from disease, healthy,...

Definitions

  1. whole; free or recovered from disease, healthy,...

Ancestry of “hail”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishhālhealthy, safe; whole
2Proto-West Germanichailhealthy, sound; whole; omen, portent
3Proto-Germanichailazwhole, unbroken, intact; entire, complete; hale,...
4Proto-Indo-European*kéh₂ilos—

Words derived from “hail”

  • healsome
  • hailsome
Every word from Proto-Indo-European *kéh₂ilos →