Online Etymology Dictionary

hell: O.E. hel, helle "nether world, abode of the dead, infernal regions," from P.Gmc. *khaljo (cf. O.Fris. helle, O.N. hel, Ger. Hölle, Goth. halja "hell") "the underworld," lit. "concealed place," from PIE *kel- "to cover, conceal, save" (see cell). The Eng. word may be in part from O.N. Hel (from P.Gmc. *khalija "one who covers up or hides something"), in Norse mythology Loki's daughter, who rules over the evil dead in Niflheim, the lowest of all worlds (nifl "mist"), a death aspect of the three-fold goddess. Transfer of a pagan concept and word to a Christian idiom, used in the K.J.V. for O.T. Heb. Sheol, N.T. Gk. Hades, Gehenna. Used figuratively for "any bad experience" since at least 1374. As an expression of disgust, etc., first recorded 1678. Hell-bent is from 1835. Hell-raiser is from 1914 (to raise hell is from 1896); hellacious is 1930s college slang. Expression Hell in a handbasket is c.1941, perhaps a revision of earlier heaven in a handbasket (c.1913), with a sense of "easy passage" to whichever destination. Expression hell of a _____ is attested from 1776. Hell or high water is apparently a variation of between the devil and the deep blue sea. To wish someone would go to hell is in Shakespeare (1596). Snowball's chance in hell "no chance" is from 1931; till hell freezes over "never" is from 1919. To ride hell for leather is from 1889, originally with reference to riding on horseback. Hell on wheels is from 1843.
hellfire: condensed from O.E. helle fyr, in which helle is the genitive case of hell. It translates Gk. gehenna tou pyros, lit. "fiery hell."
hellion: 1846, Amer.Eng., alt. (by association with Hell) from Scot./northern England dial. hallion "worthless fellow, scamp" (1786), of unknown origin.
hellhole: "unpleasant place," 1866, from hell + hole.
hellcat: "volatile woman," 1605, from hell + cat.
Sam Hill: euphemism for "Hell," 1839, Amer.Eng., of unknown origin.
hall: O.E. heall "place covered by a roof, spacious roofed residence, temple," from P.Gmc. *khallo "to cover, hide" (cf. O.H.G. halla, Ger. halle, Du. hal, O.N. höll "hall;" O.E. hell, Goth. halja "hell"), from PIE base *kel- "to hide, conceal" (see cell). Sense of "entry, vestibule" evolved 17c., at a time when the doors opened onto the main room of a house. Older sense preserved in town hall, music hall, etc., and in university dormitory names. Hall of Fame first attested 1901, in ref. to Columbia College.
blazes: as a euphemism for "hell," 1818, pl. of blaze (1).
heck: euphemistic alteration of hell, first recorded 1865.
Sheol: 1599, from Heb., lit. "the underworld, Hades," of unknown origin. Used in R.V. in place of Hell in many passages.
limbus: a Latin word meaning "edge, border," in M.L. "region on the border of Hell," and thus sometimes used in English for limbo (1).
blazing: prp. adj. from blaze (q.v.), late 14c., "shining," also "vehement." As a mild or euphemistic epithet, attested from 1888 (no doubt connected with the blazes in colloquial sense of "Hell").
gehenna: "hell," 1623, from Church L., from Gk. geenna, from Heb. Ge Hinnom "the Valley of Hinnom," southwest of Jerusalem, where, according to Jer. xix.5, children were sacrificed to Moloch.
harrow (v.): especially in harrowing of Hell in Christian theology, from hergian (see harry). In the figurative sense of "to wound the feelings, distress greatly" it is first attested c.1600 in Shakespeare.
eschatology: 1844, from Gk. eskhatos "last, furthest, remote" (from ex "out of") + -logia "a speaking" (in a certain manner). In theology, the study of the four last things: death, judgment, heaven, hell. Related: Eschatological; eschatologically.
damnation: c.1300, "condemnation to Hell by God," also "fact of being condemned by judicial sentence," from Fr. damnation, from L. damnationem, noun of action from damnare. As an imprecation, attested from c.1600.
Damnation follows death in other men,
But your damn'd Poet lives and writes agen.
[Pope, letter to Henry Cromwell, 1707 or 1708]
Calypso: sea nymph in the "Odyssey," lit. "hidden, hider" (perhaps originally a death goddess) from Gk. kalyptein "to cover, conceal," from PIE *kel- "to cover, conceal, save," root of English Hell (see cell). The W. Indian type of song is so called from 1934, of unknown origin or connection to the nymph.
orc: "ogre, devouring monster," O.E. orcþyrs, orcneas (pl.), perhaps from a Romanic source akin to ogre, and ult. from L. Orcus "Hell," a word of unknown origin. Revived by J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973) as the name of a brutal race in Middle Earth.
"But Orcs and Trolls spoke as they would, without love of words or things; and their language was actually more degraded and filthy than I have shown it." ["Return of the King," 1955]
bituminous: 1610s, from Fr. bitumineux, from L. bituminosus, from bitumen (see bitumen).
"The Plain, wherein a black bituminous gurge Boiles out from under ground, the mouth of Hell." ["Paradise Lost," XII.41]
rake (n.2): "debauchee," 1653, shortening of rakehell (1547), possibly an alteration (by association with rake (1) and Hell) of M.E. rakel (adj.) "hasty, rash, headstrong," probably from raken "to go, proceed," from O.E. racian, of unknown origin. Rakish first recorded 1706.
pandemonium: 1667, Pandæmonium, in "Paradise Lost" the name of the palace built in the middle of Hell, "the high capital of Satan and all his peers," coined by John Milton (1608-74) from Gk. pan- "all" + L.L. dæmonium "evil spirit," from Gk. daimonion "inferior divine power," from daimon "lesser god" (see demon). Transferred sense "place of uproar" is from 1779; that of "wild, lawless confusion" is from 1865.
snowball (n.): c.1400, from snow (n.) + ball (n.). The verb meaning "to make snowballs" is from 1684; sense of "to throw snowballs at" (someone) is from 1850. Meaning "to increase rapidly" is attested from 1929, though the image of a snowball increasing in size as it rolls along had been used since at least 1613, and a noun sense of "a pyramid scheme" is attested from 1892. Snowball's chance (in hell) is first recorded 1934.
limbo (1): "region supposed to exist on the border of Hell" reserved for pre-Christian saints (Limbus patrum) and unbaptized infants (Limbus infantum);" c.1300, from L. (in) limbo "(on) the edge," abl. of limbus "edge, border" (see limb (2)). Figurative sense of "condition of neglect or oblivion" is from 1642.
infernal: late 14c., from O.Fr. infernal, from L.L. infernalis "of the lower regions," from infernus "hell" (Ambrose), lit. "the lower (world)," noun use of L. infernus "lower." For the name of the place, or things which resemble it, the It. form Inferno has been used in Eng. since 1834, from Dante.
perdition: mid-14c., "fact of being lost or destroyed," from O.Fr. perdiciun (11c.), from L.L. perditionem (nom. perditio) "ruin, destruction," from L. perditus, pp. of perdere "do away with, destroy, lose, throw away," from per- "through" (here perhaps with intensive or completive force, "to destruction") + -dare "to put" (see date (1)). Special theological sense of "condition of damnation, spiritual ruin, state of souls in Hell" (late 14c.) has gradually extinguished the general use of the word.
atheist: 1570s, from Fr. athéiste (16c.), from Gk. atheos "to deny the gods, godless," from a- "without" + theos "a god" (see Thea). A slightly earlier form is represented by atheonism (1530s) which is perhaps from It. atheo "atheist."
"The existence of a world without God seems to me less absurd than the presence of a God, existing in all his perfection, creating an imperfect man in order to make him run the risk of Hell." [Armand Salacrou, "Certitudes et incertitudes," 1943]
Related: Atheistic (1630s).
all: O.E. eall "all, every, entire," from P.Gmc. *alnaz (cf. O.Fris., O.H.G. al, O.N. allr, Goth. alls), with no certain connection outside Gmc. All-fired (1837) is U.S. slang euphemism for hell-fired. First record of all out "to one's full powers" is 1880. All-star (adj.) is from 1889; all-American is from 1888, with ref. to baseball teams composed of the best players from the U.S. All-terrain vehicle first recorded 1970. All clear as a signal of "no danger" is recorded from 1902. All right, indicative of approval, is attested from 1953.
ape: O.E. apa, from P.Gmc. *apan (cf. O.S. apo, O.N. api, Du. aap, Ger. affe), perhaps borrowed in P.Gmc. from Celtic (cf. O.Ir. apa) or Slavic (cf. O.Bohemian op, Slovak opitza), probably ult. from a non-I.E. language. The verb "to imitate" (1630s) is implied in to play the ape (1570s), and the noun sense of "one who mimics" may date from early 13c. Aping "imitation" is recorded from 1680s. Ape-man, hypothetical "missing link," is from 1879, in a translation of Haeckel. To go ape (in emphatic form, go apeshit) "go crazy" is 1955, U.S. slang. To lead apes in hell (1570s) was the fancied fate of one who died an old maid.
swoop: 1566, "to move or walk in a stately manner," apparently from a fial. survival of O.E. swapan "to sweep, brandish, dash," from P.Gmc. *swaipanan, from PIE base *swei- "to swing, bend, to turn." Meaning "pounce upon with a sweeping movement" first recorded 1638. Spelling with -oo- may have been influenced by Scot. and northern England dial. soop "to sweep," from O.N. sopa "to sweep." The noun is attested from 1544. Phrase one fell swoop is from Shakespeare.
"Oh, Hell-Kite! All? What, All my pretty Chickens, and their Damme, At one fell swoope?" ["Macbeth," IV.iii.219]
pit (1): "hole," O.E. pytt "water hole, pit," from W.Gmc. *puttjaz "pool, puddle" (cf. O.E. putti, O.N. pyttr, Du. put, Ger. Pfütze), early borrowing from L. puteus "well, pit, shaft." Meaning "abode of evil spirits, hell" is attested from early 13c. The verb meaning "set against, oppose," is first recorded 1760, from the pit (1560s) where cock fights and dog fights were held (cf. Pit-bull terrier first recorded 1945). This is also the notion behind the meaning "the part of a theater on the floor of the house" (1640s). Pit of the stomach (1650s) is from the slight depression there between the ribs. Pits "the worst," first attested 1953, U.S. slang, said to be a shortened form of armpits.
north: O.E. norð, from P.Gmc. *nurtha- (cf. O.N. norðr, O.Fris. north, M.Du. nort, Du. noord, Ger. nord), possibly ult. from PIE *ner- "left," also "below," as north is to the left when one faces the rising sun (cf. Skt. narakah "hell," Gk. enerthen "from beneath," Oscan-Umbrian nertrak "left"). The same notion underlies Ir. tuaisceart "north." The usual word for "north" in the Romance languages is ultimately from English, cf. O.Fr. north (Fr. nord), borrowed from O.E. norð; It., Sp. norte are borrowed from O.Fr. North-easter "wind blowing from the northeast" is from 1794. North American first used 1766, by Franklin. Northwest Passage first attested 1600. Northerner in U.S. geo-political sense is attested from 1831. Northern lights "aurora borealis" first recorded 1721. North Star "Pole Star" is M.E. norþe sterre (1398, cf. M.Du. noirdstern, Ger. nordstern).
cell: c.1131, "small room," from L. cella "small room, hut," related to L. celare "to hide, conceal," from PIE base *kel- "conceal" (cf. Skt. cala "hut, house, hall;" Gk. kalia "hut, nest," kalyptein "to cover," koleon "sheath," kelyphos "shell, husk;" L. cella "store room," clam "secret;" O.Ir. cuile "cellar," celim "hide," M.Ir. cul "defense, shelter;" Goth. hulistr "covering," O.E. heolstor "lurking-hole, cave, covering," Goth. huljan "cover over," hulundi "hole," hilms "helmet," halja "hell," O.E. hol "cave," holu "husk, pod"). Earliest sense is for monastic rooms, then prison rooms (1722). Used in biology 17c., but not in modern sense until 1845. Meaning "small group of people working within a larger organization" is from 1925. Cell body is from 1878; cell division from 1882; cell membrane from 1870; cell wall from c.1848.
Tartar: c.1369 (implied in Tartary, "the land of the Tartars"), from M.L. Tartarus, from Pers. Tatar, first used 13c. in reference to the hordes of Ghengis Khan (1202-1227), said ult. to be from Tata, a name of the Mongols for themselves. Form in European languages probably influenced by L. Tartarus "hell" [e.g. letter of St. Louis of France, 1270: "In the present danger of the Tartars either we shall push them back into the Tartarus whence they are come, or they will bring us all into heaven"]. The historical word for what now are called in ethnological works Tatars. A Turkic people, their native region was east of the Caspian Sea. Ghengis' horde was a mix of Tatars. Mongols, Turks, etc. Used figuratively for "savage, rough, irascible person" (1663); Byron's tartarly (1821) is a nonce-word. To catch a Tartar "get hold of what cannot be controlled" is recorded from 1663; original sense not preserved, but probably from some military story similar to the old battlefield joke:
Irish soldier (shouting from within the brush): I've captured one of the enemy.
Captain: Excellent! Bring him here.
Soldier: He won't come.
Captain: Well, then, you come here.
Soldier: I would, but he won't let me.
Tartar sauce is first recorded 1855, from Fr. sauce tartare.
cunt: "female intercrural foramen," or, as some 18c. writers refer to it, "the monosyllable," M.E. cunte "female genitalia," akin to O.N. kunta, from P.Gmc. *kunton, of uncertain origin. Some suggest a link with L. cuneus "wedge," others to PIE base *geu- "hollow place," still others to PIE *gwen-, root of queen and Gk. gyne "woman." The form is similar to L. cunnus "female pudenda," which is likewise of disputed origin, perhaps lit. "gash, slit," from PIE *sker- "to cut," or lit. "sheath," from PIE *kut-no-, from base *(s)keu- "to conceal, hide." First known reference in Eng. is said to be c.1230 Oxford or London street name Gropecuntlane, presumably a haunt of prostitutes. Avoided in public speech since 15c.; considered obscene since 17c. Under "MONOSYLLABLE" Farmer lists 552 synonyms from English slang and literature before launching into another 5 pages of them in French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese. [A sampling: Botany Bay, chum, coffee-shop, cookie, End of the Sentimental Journey, fancy bit, Fumbler's Hall, funniment, goatmilker, heaven, hell, Itching Jenny, jelly-bag, Low Countries, nature's tufted treasure, parenthesis, penwiper, prick-skinner, seminary, tickle-toby, undeniable, wonderful lamp, and aphrodisaical tennis court. Du. cognate de kont means "a bottom, an arse." Du. also has attractive poetic slang ways of expressing this part, such as liefdesgrot, lit. "cave of love," and vleesroos "rose of flesh." Alternative form cunny is attested from c.1720 but is certainly much earlier and forced a change in the pronunciation of coney (q.v.), but it was good for a pun while coney was still the common word for "rabbit": "A pox upon your Christian cockatrices! They cry, like poulterers' wives, 'No money, no coney.' " [Massinger, 1622]
Hobbit: 1937, coined in the fantasy tales of J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973).
"Hobbit is an invention. In the Westron the word used, when the people was referred to at all, was banakil 'halfling.' But ... the folk of the Shire and of Bree used the word kuduk .... It seems likely that kuduk was a worn-down form of kûd-dûkan [='hole-dweller']. The latter I have translated ... by holbytla ['hole-builder']; and hobbit provides a word that might well be a worn-down form of holbytla, if the name had occurred in our ancient language." [Tolkien, "Return of the King," 1955, p.416]

"On a blank leaf I scrawled: 'In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.' I did not and do not know why." [Tolkien, letter to W.H. Auden, dated 1955]
The word also turns up in a very long list of folkloric supernatural creatures in the writings of Michael Aislabie Denham (d.1859), printed in volume 2 of "The Denham Tracts" [ed. James Hardy, London: Folklore Society, 1895], a compilation of Denham's scattered publications. Denham was an early folklorist who concentrated on Northumberland, Durham, Westmoreland, Cumberland, the Isle of Man, and Scotland.
"What a happiness this must have been seventy or eighty years ago and upwards, to those chosen few who had the good luck to be born on the eve of this festival of all festivals; when the whole earth was so overrun with ghosts, boggles, bloody-bones, spirits, demons, ignis fatui, brownies, bugbears, black dogs, specters, shellycoats, scarecrows, witches, wizards, barguests, Robin-Goodfellows, hags, night-bats, scrags, breaknecks, fantasms, hobgoblins, hobhoulards, boggy-boes, dobbies, hob-thrusts, fetches, kelpies, warlocks, mock-beggars, mum-pokers, Jemmy-burties, urchins, satyrs, pans, fauns, sirens, tritons, centaurs, calcars, nymphs, imps, incubuses, spoorns, men-in-the-oak, hell-wains, fire-drakes, kit-a-can-sticks, Tom-tumblers, melch-dicks, larrs, kitty-witches, hobby-lanthorns, Dick-a-Tuesdays, Elf-fires, Gyl-burnt-tales, knockers, elves, rawheads, Meg-with-the-wads, old-shocks, ouphs, pad-foots, pixies, pictrees, giants, dwarfs, Tom-pokers, tutgots, snapdragons, sprets, spunks, conjurers, thurses, spurns, tantarrabobs, swaithes, tints, tod-lowries, Jack-in-the-Wads, mormos, changelings, redcaps, yeth-hounds, colt-pixies, Tom-thumbs, black-bugs, boggarts, scar-bugs, shag-foals, hodge-pochers, hob-thrushes, bugs, bull-beggars, bygorns, bolls, caddies, bomen, brags, wraiths, waffs, flay-boggarts, fiends, gallytrots, imps, gytrashes, patches, hob-and-lanthorns, gringes, boguests, bonelesses, Peg-powlers, pucks, fays, kidnappers, gallybeggars, hudskins, nickers, madcaps, trolls, robinets, friars' lanthorns, silkies, cauld-lads, death-hearses, goblins, hob-headlesses, bugaboos, kows, or cowes, nickies, nacks necks, waiths, miffies, buckies, ghouls, sylphs, guests, swarths, freiths, freits, gy-carlins Gyre-carling, pigmies, chittifaces, nixies, Jinny-burnt-tails, dudmen, hell-hounds, dopple-gangers, boggleboes, bogies, redmen, portunes, grants, hobbits, hobgoblins, brown-men, cowies, dunnies, wirrikows, alholdes, mannikins, follets, korreds, lubberkins, cluricauns, kobolds, leprechauns, kors, mares, korreds, puckles korigans, sylvans, succubuses, blackmen, shadows, banshees, lian-hanshees, clabbernappers, Gabriel-hounds, mawkins, doubles, corpse lights or candles, scrats, mahounds, trows, gnomes, sprites, fates, fiends, sibyls, nicknevins, whitewomen, fairies, thrummy-caps, cutties, and nisses, and apparitions of every shape, make, form, fashion, kind and description, that there was not a village in England that had not its own peculiar ghost. Nay, every lone tenement, castle, or mansion-house, which could boast of any antiquity had its bogle, its specter, or its knocker. The churches, churchyards, and crossroads were all haunted. Every green lane had its boulder-stone on which an apparition kept watch at night. Every common had its circle of fairies belonging to it. And there was scarcely a shepherd to be met with who had not seen a spirit!"
[Emphasis added] It is curious that the name occurs nowhere else in folklore, and there is no evidence that Tolkien ever saw this.