hell

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: B1 — Intermediate

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun any place of pain and turmoil
  2. noun a cause of difficulty and suffering
  3. noun (Christianity) the abode of Satan and the forces of evil; where sinners suffer eternal punishment; - John Milton; ; -Dr. Johnson

Etymology

From Middle English helle, from Old English hell, from Proto-West Germanic *hallju, from Proto-Germanic *haljō (“concealed place, netherworld”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- (“to cover, conceal, save”). First attested in c. 725. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Hälle (“hell”), West Frisian hel (“hell”), Dutch hel (“hell”), German Low German Hell (“hell”), German Hölle (“hell”), Norwegian helvete (“hell”), Icelandic hel (“the abode of the dead, death”). Also related to the Hel of Germanic mythology. See also hele.

In classic literature

Synonyms

hell on earth, hellhole, snake pit, the pits, inferno

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