Link Centre Dictionary

hail

UK/heɪl/ US/heɪ̯ɫ/ common uk
verb (5) noun (2)

verb

1.

praise vociferously

  • “The critics hailed the young pianist as a new Rubinstein”
Synonyms
2.

be a native of

  • “She hails from Kalamazoo”
Synonyms
3.

call for

  • “hail a cab”
4.
5.

precipitate as small ice particles

  • “It hailed for an hour”

noun

1.

precipitation of ice pellets when there are strong rising air currents

2.

Origin

From Middle English hayl, haul, from Old English hæġl, hæġel, hagol (“hail”), from Proto-West Germanic *hagl, from Proto-Germanic *haglaz, of uncertain origin. Either from Proto-Indo-European *kagʰlos (“pebble”); or alternatively from *ḱoḱló-, a reduplication of *ḱel- (“cold”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Hail (“hail”), West Frisian heil (“hail”), Low German Hagel (“hail”), German Hagel (“hail”), Dutch and Swedish hagel (“hail”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Icelandic hagl (“hail”). Compare also Old Norse héla (“frost”). Doublet of haglaz, if the second etymology (“cold”) is correct. Root-cognates outside of Germanic include Ancient Greek κάχληξ (kákhlēx, “pebble”), or alternatively Sanskrit शिशिर (śíśira, “cool, cold”), possibly also Lithuanian šešėlis (“shade, shadow”), depending on the etymology.

Phrases

  • drink hail
  • hail and ride
  • hail down
  • hail from
  • hail shaft
  • hail storm
  • hail sugar
  • rail hail

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Part of

Related verbs

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.