ENGLISH
REFERENCE

hail

v. · n.
US //ˈheɪɫ// UK //hˈeɪl// hail
  1. 1 to call for a taxi (v.)
    B1 Intermediate

    to wave or call out to get the attention of a taxi or a bus.

    to signal or call out to a vehicle, such as a taxi or watercraft, to request it to stop.

    Example

    We stood on the corner for ten minutes trying to hail a taxi in the rain.

    Example

    The businessman stood at the curb, raising his arm to hail a passing cab as the evening rush hour began to peak.
  2. 2 to praise (v.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate

    to describe someone or something as being very good or successful.

    to acclaim or enthusiastically acknowledge the excellence of a person or achievement.

    Example

    Critics hail the new movie as the best film of the year.

    Example

    The international community continues to hail the peace treaty as a landmark achievement in modern diplomacy.
Show 4 more sensesShow fewer
  1. 3 to come from a place (v.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate

    to come from or have been born in a particular place.

    to originate from or have one's birthplace in a specific location; used with the preposition 'from'.

    Example

    Our new teacher hails from a small village in the mountains.

    Example

    Although she has lived in London for decades, she originally hails from a coastal town in western Australia.

    Usage

    Always used with the preposition 'from'.
  2. 4 weather (v.)
    B1 Intermediate

    when small balls of ice fall from the sky like rain.

    to precipitate small pellets of ice; used as an impersonal verb with 'it'.

    Example

    It started to hail so hard that we had to pull the car over.

    Example

    The sky turned a bruised purple, and it began to hail, with ice pellets bouncing violently off the pavement.

  3. 5 frozen rain (n.)
    B1 Intermediate

    small, hard balls of ice that fall from the sky.

    precipitation in the form of small balls or lumps of ice.

    Example

    The hail was so large that it damaged the roof of the greenhouse.

    Example

    A sudden storm brought heavy hail that flattened the crops and dented several vehicles parked outside.
    • hailstones
  4. 6 a large number of things (n.)
    C1 Advanced Literary

    a large number of things, like bullets or insults, directed at someone all at once.

    a rapid and intense barrage of objects or comments directed at a target.

    Example

    The politician faced a hail of angry questions from the crowd.

    Example

    The retreating soldiers were met with a hail of gunfire from the ridge above the valley.
Etymology 1

From Middle English hayle, haile, hail, hawel, haghil, haȝel, 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”), Dutch hagel (“hail”), Low German Hagel (“hail”), German Hagel (“hail”), Danish hagl (“hail”), Swedish hagel (“hail”), 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.

Etymology 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”).

Etymology 3

From Middle English heil (“healthy, sound”), from Old Norse heill, from Proto-Germanic *hailaz (“whole, entire, healthy”). The verb is from Middle English heilen, itself from the adjective. Doublet of whole, hale, and heil.

Idioms1 entry

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