Etymology

Hel (1889) by Johannes Gehrts, depicts the Old Norse Hel, a goddess-like figure, in the location of the same name, which she

oversees

The modern English word hell is derived from Old English hel, helle (first attested around 725 AD to refer to a nether
world of the dead) reaching into the Anglo-Saxon pagan period.[1] The word has cognates in all branches of
the Germanic languages, including Old Norse hel (which refers to both a location and goddess-like being in Norse
mythology), Old Frisian helle, Old Saxon hellia, Old High German hella, and Gothic halja. All forms ultimately derive
from the reconstructed Proto-Germanic feminine noun *xaljō or *haljō ('concealed place, the underworld'). In turn, the
Proto-Germanic form derives from the o-grade form of the Proto-Indo-European root *kel-, *kol-: 'to cover, conceal,
save'.[2] Indo-European cognates include Latin cēlāre ("to hide", related to the English word cellar) and early
Irish ceilid ("hides"). Upon the Christianization of the Germanic peoples, extensions of the Proto-Germanic
*xaljō were reinterpreted to denote the underworld in Christian mythology[1][3] (see Gehenna).
Related early Germanic terms and concepts include Proto-Germanic *xalja-rūnō(n), a feminine compound noun, and
*xalja-wītjan, a neutral compound noun. This form is reconstructed from the Latinized Gothic plural noun
*haliurunnae (attested by Jordanes; according to philologist Vladimir Orel, meaning 'witches'), Old English helle-
rúne ('sorceress, necromancer', according to Orel), and Old High German helli-rūna 'magic'. The compound is
composed of two elements: *xaljō (*haljō) and *rūnō, the Proto-Germanic precursor to Modern English rune.[4] The
second element in the Gothic haliurunnae may however instead be an agent noun from the verb rinnan ("to run, go"),
which would make its literal meaning "one who travels to the netherworld".[5][6]
Proto-Germanic *xalja-wītjan (or *halja-wītjan) is reconstructed from Old Norse hel-víti 'hell', Old English helle-
wíte 'hell-torment, hell', Old Saxon helli-wīti 'hell', and the Middle High German feminine noun helle-wīze. The
compound is a compound of *xaljō (discussed above) and *wītjan (reconstructed from forms such as Old
English witt 'right mind, wits', Old Saxon gewit 'understanding', and Gothic un-witi 'foolishness, understanding').[7]

Religion, mythology, and folklore

Hell appears in several mythologies and religions. It is commonly inhabited by demons and the souls of dead people.
A fable about hell which recurs in folklore across several cultures is the allegory of the long spoons. Hell is often
depicted in art and literature, perhaps most famously in Dante's early-14th century narrative poem Divine Comedy.