The Multiple Meanings of Hail

The Multiple Meanings of Hail The Multiple Meanings of Hail The Multiple Meanings of Hail By Mark Nichol When listing hail as one of the words used to describe precipitation recently, I thought about the other definitions of the word. Hail is also used as an interjection to acclaim (â€Å"Hail to the chief!†) or salute (â€Å"Hail, fellow well met!†) someone, though it’s an archaic usage rarely applied anymore. This meaning stems from the Old Norse word heill, used for the same purpose but derived from that word’s original meaning, â€Å"healthy.† The homophone hale, rarely used outside of the expression â€Å"hale and hearty,† carries a connotation of good health persisting into old age. (The archaic salutation wassail, with a second syllable sharing the same etymology, stems from an Old Norse exhortation to be well; modern usage refers to a hot alcoholic drink served from a bowl at a Christmas celebration, or to revelry in general.) The verb hail means not only â€Å"acclaim† but also â€Å"greet† or â€Å"summon.† It’s rarely used in the sense of greeting, but the expression â€Å"hail a taxi† (or â€Å"cab†), referring to summoning a vehicle for hire, is common. (The rare verb hale, meaning â€Å"drag† or â€Å"pull† in the sense of drawing a horse’s reins or a weapon, or to haul a net or an anchor, is cognate with haul and is distantly related to hail in the sense of â€Å"call.†) Meanwhile, the Catholic devotional salutation â€Å"Hail, Mary† inspired the colorful expression â€Å"Hail Mary pass† or â€Å"Hail Mary play† to describe a desperate gambit in football. One who hails is a hailer, though this term is all but unknown except in the British English term loud-hailer, the name of a device also known as a megaphone or a bullhorn. In maritime usage, sailors are said to hail one another as their vessels pass each other, identifying themselves and passing news; in earlier times, they would be said to speak each other. Also, to stay within hail or within hailing distance is to remain close enough to be heard. A related usage from the nautical sense is to say that someone hails from somewhere, meaning that the person is a native or a resident of a place. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the General category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:45 Synonyms for â€Å"Food†English Grammar 101: Verb MoodPreposition Mistakes #3: Two Idioms