Do you know the definition of hail? This article will provide you with all of the information you need on the word hail, including its definition, etymology, usage, example sentences, and more!
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Kevin
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September 8, 2021
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Common Questions
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What does the word hail mean?
According to Your Dictionary, Collins English Dictionary, and the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, the word hail can refer to many different things. The word hail can be used as a verb to mean to greet with respect or to cheer on or acclaim. This greeting or salutation can be used to welcome someone or call them over. One can hail more than just a person, and could also hail a taxi or a passing ship.
Hail can also refer to a form of precipitation, like a hail of pebbles. These showers have pellets of ice larger than 5 millimeters (.2 inches) in diameter. These are formed by cumulonimbus clouds and occur when water is condensing. When this occurs, the water releases heat in the surrounding areas. Then, the air around it starts to rise faster and produce more moisture. The supercooled water attached to ice, dust, salt from the ocean, or frozen raindrops. This is usually associated with thunderstorms and happens when there are very strong rising air currents. Layers of ice form around the particle to form the hard snow.
Many other languages besides English contain words that mean hail. You may notice that many of these words look and sound similar to one another. These are called cognates, which are words that look, sound, and mean similar things across languages. These are usually formed when two words or languages are of a common origin or root language such as Latin or Greek. This list of translations of hail is provided by Word Sense.
- Japanese: 雹 (ひょう, hyō)
- Aromanian: grãndini (fem.), grindinã (fem.)
- Mandarin: 雹 (báo), 冰雹 (bīngbáo), 雹子 (bāozi)
- Old English: hæġl
- Persian: تگرگ (tagarg)
- Dongxiang: mandëu, mensun
- Korean: 우박
- Basque: kazkabar, txingor
- Kalmyk: мөндр
- Volapük: gräl
- Hungarian: jégverés, jégeső
- Albanian: breshëri
- Catalan: calamarsa
- Hebrew: ברד
- Saanich: SḰEL,ḰOLX̱
- Russian: град (masc.)
- Scottish Gaelic: clach-mheallain (fem.)
- ǃXóõ: ǁgáã
- Lower Sorbian: kšupy (fem. pl.)
- Cyrillic: ту̏ча (fem.), гра̑д (masc.)
- Slovene: toča (fem.)
- Macedonian: град (masc.)
- French: grêle (fem.)
- Roman: tȕča (fem.), grȃd (masc.)
- Venetian: tenpesta (fem.)
- Old High German: hagal
- Welsh: cesair (pl.), cenllysg (pl.)
- Galician: sarabia, pedrazo
- Navajo: ńló
- Ukrainian: град (masc.)
- North Frisian: haiel (Föhr)
- German: Hagel (masc.)
- Taos: į̀ękǫ́ne
- Bulgarian: граду́шка (fem.)
- Czech: kroupy (fem. pl.), krupobití (neut.)
- Dutch: hagel (masc.)
- Norman: grile (fem.)
- Cornish: keser (pl.)
- Kurmanji: terg (fem.), gijlok (fem.)
- Romansch: granella (fem.), garniala (fem.), garnela (fem.), garneala (fem.), garnela (fem.)
- Sorani: تهرزه (tarza)
- Finnish: rakeet (pl.), raesade
- Danish: hagl (neut.)
- Ainu: コンル (konru)
- West Frisian: hagel
- Slovak: krúpa (fem.)
- Estonian: rahe
- Turkish: dolu
- Latin: grandō (fem.)
- Bengali: শিলাবৃষ্টি (shilabrishţi)
- Esperanto: hajlo
- Zazaki: torg (n-d) (n-p)
- Swedish: hagel (neut.)
- Sardinian: gràndhile, gràndhine, gràndili
- Greek: χαλάζι (neut.)
- Cantonese: 冰雹 (bing1 bok6)
- Belarusian: град (masc.)
- Italian: grandine (fem.)
- Avar: горо, цӏер
- Thai: เห็บ (hèp)
- Bashkir: боҙ, борсаҡ
- Old Saxon: hagal
- Kazakh: бұршақ
- Friulian: tampieste (fem.)
- Malay: hujan es, hujan batu
- Portuguese: granizo (masc.), saraiva
- Latgalian: krusa
- Tagalog: graniso
- Romanian: grindină
- Miyako: アラリ (arari)
- Khmer: ព្រិលគ្រាប់ (pril kruab)
- Indonesian: hujan es, hujan batu
- Armenian: կարկուտ
- Sicilian: rannula (fem.)
- Tatar: боз
- Vietnamese: mưa đá
- Spanish: granizo (masc.), pedrisco (masc.)
- Norwegian: hagl (neut.)
- Icelandic: haglél (neut.)
- Low German: Hagel
- Occitan: granissa, grella
- Lithuanian: kruša (fem.)
- Arabic: بَرَد (masc.)
- Quechua: chikchi
- Polish: grad (masc.)
- Hindi: ओला (olā)
- Ido: greluno
- Azeri: dolu
- Latvian: krusa
- Georgian: სეტყვა
- Asturian: pedrisca (fem.), granizu (masc.)
- Maori: hukākapu, uawhatu, hukātara, hukāwhatu, uaāwhatu, ua-ā-whatu
- Faroese: hagl (neut.), heglingur (masc.)
What are synonyms of hail?
There are many different words that a person can use in place of the word hail. These are known as synonyms, which are words and phrases that have the same definition as another word or phrase. Synonyms are a useful tool to know when it comes to English language grammar because they can help to expand a person’s vocabulary and in turn prevent them from repeating themselves in conversation or written work. This list of synonyms for the word hail is provided by Power Thesaurus.
- bid welcome
- make much of
- salaam
- precipitation
- deluge
- hymn
- hurrah
- admire
- exalt
- shower
- salutations
- express admiration for
- wave down
- hailstone
- greeting
- volley
- hear it for
- cheer
- shout
- eulogize
- herald
- acknowledge
- beat
- curtsy
- speak highly of
- salute
- accosting
- approach
- fall
- hallow
- panegyrize
- stream
- burst
- bombardment
- say hello
- torrent
- comes
- extol
- all hail
- flag down
- felicitate
- applaud
- calls
- laud
- hailstorm
- pay tribute to
- cry out
- holler
- hello
- acclaim
- celebrate
- glorify
- salutation
- rainfall
- encourage
- signal
- rained
- address
- come
- salvo
- commend
- give a hand
- storm
- commemorate
- praise
- recognize
- cannonade
- rave about
- frost
- raining
- broadside
- rain
- fusillade
- roar
- yell
- be from
- accost
- bellow
- snow
- receive
- showers
- greet
- compliment
- bombard
- flatter
- speak to
- honor
- bawl
- welcome
- lionize
- congratulate
- calling
- barrage
- ave
- buttonhole
- honour
- sleet
- pelt
- ice
- pat on the back
- call
What is the origin of the word hail?
According to Etymonline, the word hail has been used since the Middle English and Old English hægl/Old English hæġl in the 13th century, and hagol, as well as the Mercian hegel. This comes from the Proto-Germanic haglaz, ḱel, and ḱoḱló. This also has formed cognates in the Old Frisian heil, Old Norse heill, Old Norse héla, Dutch hagel, Old Saxon wassail/wæs hæil, Old High German hagal, Old Norse hagl, and German Hagel. These come from the Proto-Indo-European root kaghlo/kagʰlos, which is also the source of the Greek kakhlex which means pebble.
Overall, the word hail means the precipitation of ice pellets or small ice particles as well as an interjection or exclamation used as a familiar greeting for means of identification. This reverent salutation is also used in toasts. Hail can be used as a noun or its variant as a transitive verb.
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