hell

en-verb

hell (third-person singular simple present hells, present participle helling, simple past and past participle helled)

hells (present singular third-person)
helling (participle present)
helled (participle past)
helled (past)

From Middle English helle, from Old English hell, from Proto-West Germanic *hallju, from Proto-Germanic *haljō (“concealed place, netherworld”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- (“to cover, conceal, save”).
Cognate with Saterland Frisian Hälle (“hell”), West Frisian hel (“hell”), Dutch hel (“hell”), German Low German Hell (“hell”), German Hölle (“hell”), Norwegian helvete (“hell”), Icelandic hel (“the abode of the dead, death”). Also related to the Hel of Germanic mythology. See also hele.

cog

To make hellish; to place (someone) in hell; to make (a place) into a hell.


damnation

en-noun

damnation (countable and uncountable, plural damnations)

From Middle English dampnacioun, from Old French dampnacion, from Latin damnatio.

The state of being damned; condemnation; openly expressed disapprobation.

проклятие

(religion) Condemnation to everlasting punishment in the future state, or the punishment itself.


damnation

Oh damnation! The window doesn't shut!

Expressing annoyance or disappointment; damn; dammit.


Sheol

Borrowed from Hebrew שְׁאוֹל, שְׁאֹל (sheól, “abode of the dead, underworld, netherworld, etc.”).

bor

Hebrew שְׁאוֹל

(Old Testament) The realm of the dead, the common grave of mankind, Hell. In older English translations of the Bible, notably the Authorized Version or King James Bible, this word sheol is translated inconsistently and variously as grave (31 times), pit (3 times) or hell (31 times: e.g., De. 32:22; 2Sa. 22:6; Job 11:8; Ps. 9:17).


Tartarus

From Latin Tartarus, from Ancient Greek Τάρταρος (Tártaros).

[…] them with Fire and hoſtile Arms / Fearleſs aſſault, and to the brow of Heav'n / Purſuing, drive them out from God and bliſs, / Into thir place of puniſhment, the Gulf / Of Tartarus, which ready opens wide / His fiery Chaos to receave thir fall.

1667, John Milton, “Book VI”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC, lines 50–55:

(Greek mythology, Roman mythology) A dark and gloomy part of the realm of Hades, reserved for the damned and the wicked, such as the Titans; an equivalent of hell in Greek and Roman mythology.


Hades

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek ᾍδης (Hā́idēs).

lbor

(Greek mythology) The underworld, the domain of Hades, by transference from its god.

(specifically, chiefly Eastern Orthodoxy) Hell as a waiting place for damned souls before the Last Judgement, after which they may be cast in Gehenna.


Te

From Coptic ⲧⲏ (tē), from Egyptian d-wA-t:dwAt (“dwꜣt”). Doublet of Duat.

der

<i class="Latn mention" lang="egy">dwꜣt</i>

(Egyptology, Egyptian mythology) The realm of the dead in Egyptian mythology.


hellish

en-adj

hellish (comparative more hellish, superlative most hellish)

more hellish (comparative)
most hellish (superlative)

Fauſtus is gone, regard his helliſh fall, / Whoſe fiendful fortune may exhort the wiſe, / Onely to wonder at vnlawful things, […]

1589–1592 (date written), Ch[ristopher] Marl[owe], The Tragicall History of D. Faustus. […], London: […] V[alentine] S[immes] for Thomas Bushell, published 1604, →OCLC, signature [F3], recto:

I woke up from a hellish noise coming from the house next door.

(hyperbolic) causing great pain, discomfort or distress


infernal

infernal (comparative more infernal, superlative most infernal)

more infernal (comparative)
most infernal (superlative)

celestial

antonym(s) of “of or relating to hell, underworld or fire”

From Middle French infernal, from Medieval Latin infernalis, from Latin īnfernus, from īnferum (“netherworld, underworld, hell”), equivalent to inferno + -al.

Of or relating to hell, or the world of the dead; hellish.

جَحِيمِيّ

of or relating to hell, or the world of the dead; hellish

(by extension) Of or relating to a fire or inferno.

infernaal

by extension: of or relating to a great fire or inferno


inferno

From Italian inferno (“hell”), from Latin infernus (“of the lower regions”), inferna (“the lower regions”); see infernal.
The meaning "big fire" came as a figurative use from the traditional idea of hellfire.

At each sudden explosion in the inferno below they sprang back from the brink [of the volcanic crater].

1899, D. C. Worcester, The Philippine Islands and Their People:

When Jurgis had first inspected the packing plants with Szedvilas, he […] found that each one of these lesser industries was a separate little inferno, in its way as horrible as the killing beds, the source and fountain of them all[, and t]he workers in each of them had their own peculiar diseases.


fire and brimstone

Calque of Biblical Hebrew גׇּפְרִ֣ית וָאֵ֑שׁ (gofrit va’esh) and Ancient Greek πυρὸς καὶ θείου (puròs kaì theíou), appearing in both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament.

calque

גׇּפְרִ֣ית וָאֵ֑שׁ

πυρὸς καὶ θείου

And the third Angel followed them, ſaying with a lowd voice, If any man worship the beaſt and his image, and receiue his marke in his forehead, or in his hand, / The ſame ſhall drinke of the wine of the wrath of God, which is powred out without mixture into the cup of his indignation, and hee ſhall be tormented with fire and brimſtone, in the preſence of the holy Angels, and in the preſence of the Lambe:

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Revelation 14:9–10:


hellfire

en-noun

hellfire (countable and uncountable, plural hellfires)

/ˈhɛlˌfaɪəɹ/

From Middle English helle fire, helever, from Old English hellefȳr, equivalent to hell + fire. Cognate with West Frisian helfjoer (“hellfire”), Dutch hellevuur (“hellfire”), German Höllenfeuer (“hellfire”).


down under

Refers to the fact that the Australian continent lies south of, colloquially thought of as 'below' or 'under', the equator.


harrowing of hell

harrowing of hell (plural harrowings of hell)

Not the direct vision of the harrowings of hell as reported, for example, by many Christian visionaries, but accounts given by the departed souls themselves are more frequent and typical features of Jewish moralist writing.

1977, Raphael Werblowsky, Joseph Karo: lawyer and mystic, 2nd edition, page 44:

Of the four harrowings of hell that are cornerstones of Western literature […], we can eliminate the oldest.

2003, Robert J. Andreach, Drawing upon the Past: Classical Theatre in the Contemporary American Theatre, page 36:

[…] the Hero Twins go on to defeat Xibalba and its ghastly denizens, a true Harrowing of Hell.

2007, Sophie & Michael Coe, The True History of Chocolate, page 39:

(mythology, theology) A raid into the underworld by a heroic figure.


netherworld

From nether- (“beneath, lower”) + world.

The missionary was motivated by a sincere desire to rescue souls from eternal torment in the netherworld.

Specifically, a location of punishment in the afterlife; a hell.


the other place

According to Christianity, when someone dies, they go to either Heaven or the other place.


burn in hell

en-verb

burn in hell (third-person singular simple present burns in hell, present participle burning in hell, simple past and past participle burned in hell or burnt in hell)

burns in hell (present singular third-person)
burning in hell (participle present)
burned in hell (participle past)
burned in hell (past)
burnt in hell (participle past)
burnt in hell (past)

Ted could die and burn in hell as far as I was concerned.

2011, Joyce Turner, Pain Through A Child's Eyes, →ISBN, page 136:

For some people, salvation is little more than fire insurance— they don't care about this life, they just don't want to burn in hell.

2011, Max Lucado, 3:16 Participant's Guide: The Numbers of Hope, →ISBN:

I was only about eight years old but the message was loud and clear, “If you die without knowing Jesus as your savior, you will burn in hell for eternity!”

2012, Bill Petite, A Rose in the Desert, →ISBN:

(literally) To spend the afterlife suffering in hell.


hellhound

From Middle English helle hound; equivalent to hell + hound.

From forth the kennell of thy wombe hath crept / A Hell-hound that doth hunt vs all to death:

c. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iii], page 195, column 2:

Barricading serves not: fly fast, ye Bodyguards; rabid Insurrection, like the hellhound Chase, uproaring at your heels!

1837, Thomas Carlyle, chapter X, in The French Revolution: A History […], volume I (The Bastille), London: Chapman and Hall, →OCLC, book VII (The Insurrection of Women):

(mythology) A demonic dog of hell, typically of unnatural size, strength or speed, with black fur, glowing eyes, and ghostly or phantom characteristics.


bottomless pit

1769, The Bible, King James Version, Oxford Standard Text, Revelation, 9:11,
And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.


hellspawn

en-noun

hellspawn (plural hellspawn or hellspawns)

Despite his grim mien, his kinship with vein-biters and hellspawns, Batman always maintained one pious virtue, his unspoken insistence on the value—the sacredness—of human life.

1994, Dennis O’Neil, Batman: Knightfall, Bantam Books, →ISBN, page 348:

Image Animation also fabricated the hellspawns’ bondage-inspired costumes, substituting foam material for the more expensive leather of the previous two films.

1996, Anthony Timpone, Men, Makeup, and Monsters: Hollywood’s Masters of Illusion and FX, St. Martin’s Griffin, →ISBN, page 179:

The face and voice were beyond question those of the man who had died to protect her in a room full of hellspawn and slaughter.

1998, David Drake, Queen of Demons, Tor Books, →ISBN, page 115:

“The door was ajar. Not so smart for a young Nightwing-in-training—especially when he’s got one of those filthy hellspawns in his hands.”

2003, Geoffrey Huntington [pseudonym; William J. Mann], “A Deadly Duel”, in Demon Witch (The Ravenscliff Series; II), ReganBooks, →ISBN, page 111:

(fantasy) A creature or creatures from hell.


Gehenna

heaven

antonym(s) of “Christianity, uncountable”

Hawaiian: kehena

Borrowed from Ecclesiastical Latin gehenna, from Ancient Greek γέεννα (géenna), from Hebrew גֵּיהִנּוֹם (ge'henom, “hell”, literally “valley of Hinnom”), named after the Valley of Hinnom outside Jerusalem, which was constantly filled with the waste of the city, which was then burnt. Heinous deeds are also associated with this valley, as during the time when Jerusalem was ruled by non-Jews (referred to in scriptures simply as 'pagans') child sacrifice was practiced there.


Malebolge

Unadapted borrowing from Italian Malebolge (literally “Evil Ditches”). See bolgia.

unadapted borrowing

The eighth circle of Hell in the Divine Comedy.


hell-born

en-adj

hell-born (comparative more hell-born, superlative most hell-born)

more hell-born (comparative)
most hell-born (superlative)