hail

Where does the word "hail" come from? It comes from Old Norse heill, and was adopted directly into English (1200s).

Hail’s story begins in Old Norse: heill meant “whole, healthy.” Whole, healthy, used as a greeting wishing good health. It reached English by 1200s as hail. Settled as the English greeting and verb meaning to call out to someone. Today, hail means to greet or acclaim someone enthusiastically, or to call out to attract attention.

1. Stage 1 · Old Norse · medieval heill "whole, healthy", whole, healthy, used as a greeting wishing good health.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1200s hail "to greet or call out to someone", settled as the English greeting and verb meaning to call out to someone.