Hail the Ice and Hail the Greeting Are Different Words
Hail is frozen rain. The greeting is a separate word meaning to wish someone health.
Hail is frozen rain falling as pellets of ice, and to hail is also to greet or call out to someone. The two are unrelated: the ice is Old English *hagol*, while the greeting is Old Norse *heill*, whole or healthy — the same root as *health*, *whole* and *heal*. To hail someone was to wish them health. Hailstones grow in layers as updraughts carry them repeatedly through a thundercloud, which is why a cut hailstone shows rings like an onion.
- Frozen rain. *A hailstorm.*
- To greet. *Hail a taxi.*
- To come from. *He hails from Leeds.*
- Hale — the same root. *Hale and hearty.*
- Old English — *hagol*. *The ice.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | hail | Hail. |
| Verb | hail | Hailing. |
| Compound | hailstone | A hailstone. |
| Related | hale | Hale. |
| Old Norse | heill | Whole. |
- Hail rattled on the roof.Weather.
- She hailed a taxi.Calling.
- He hails from Cornwall.Origin.
How hailstones form
- An ice pellet is carried upward by a strong updraught
- It gathers a layer of supercooled water and freezes
- It falls, is caught again, and gathers another layer
- Each cycle adds a ring, like an onion
- The largest hailstones need the most violent updraughts
The ice is Old English *hagol*. The greeting is Old Norse *heill*, whole or healthy, the root of *health*.
Are the two hails related?
No. The ice is Old English. The greeting comes from an Old Norse word meaning whole or healthy, the root of health and heal.
Why do hailstones have rings?
Each trip through a thundercloud's updraught adds a new frozen layer, so a cut hailstone shows growth rings.