ENGLISH
REFERENCE

heil

n. uncountable
C2 Proficiency US //ˈhaɪɫ// heil

n. a greeting used by members of the Nazi party. It is a German word that means 'health' or 'well-being'.

n. a greeting used by the Nazi Party, derived from the German word for 'health'. Often used in the context of historical or political discourse regarding 20th-century Germany.


SIMPLE

The film shows people shouting 'heil' during the parade.

CONTEXTUAL

Historians often study how the use of the 'heil' greeting helped to unify the party's members during the 1930s.

COMPLEX

The documentary explores the psychological impact of the 'heil' salute on the German population, illustrating how such simple gestures can be weaponized to enforce ideological conformity.

Origin

Borrowed from German Heil. Doublet of whole, hail, and hale.

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