Etymology
1. "greetings!" c.1200, from O.N.
heill "health, prosperity, good luck;" and O.E.
hals, shortening of
wæs hæil "be healthy" (see health and cf. wassail). The verb meaning "to call from a distance" is 1563, originally nautical.
Hail fellow well met is 1581, from a familiar greeting.
Hail Mary (c.1300) is the angelic salutation (L.
ave Maria), cf. Luke i.58, used as a devotional recitation.
2. From Middle English haylen, haulien, hawelien, from Old English hagolian, hagalian (“to hail”), from Proto-West Germanic *haglōn, from Proto-Germanic *haglōną (“to hail”), from the noun (see above). Cognate with Saterland Frisian hailje (“to hail”), West Frisian heilje (“to hail”), Dutch hagelen (“to hail”), German Low German hageln (“to hail”), German hageln (“to hail”), Danish hagle (“to hail”), Swedish hagla (“to hail”), Norwegian Nynorsk hagle, hagla (“to hail”), Faroese hegla (“to hail”), Icelandic hagla (“to hail”). See: Middle English '
haylen', Old English '
hagalian', Proto-Germanic '
*haglōną', Frisian, Saterlandic 'hailje', Dutch '
hagelen', German, old spelling '
hageln', Danish '
hagle', Swedish '
hagla', Norwegian, nynorsk '
hagle', Faroese '
hegla', Icelandic '
hagla'.
Verbs referencing "hail"
German, old spelling
hageln, Swedish
hagla.