hægl

Old English

Alternative forms

• hæġel, hagal, hagol

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *hagl, from Proto-Germanic *haglaz, probably from Proto-Indo-European *kagʰlos (“pebble”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /xæjl/, [hæjl]

Noun

hæġl m

1. hail
   • 10th century, Ælfric, On the Seasons of the Year

     Hæġl cymþ of reġndropum þonne hīe bēoþ ġefrorene upp on þǣre lyfte, and swā siþþan feallaþ.

     Hail comes from raindrops when they're frozen up in the air, and so fall to the ground.

2. the runic character ᚻ (/h/)
   • The Old English rune poem

     ᚻ byþ hwītust corna...

     Hail is the whitest of grains...

Declension

Strong a-stem:

	singular	plural
nominative	hæġl	hæġlas
accusative	hæġl	hæġlas
genitive	hæġles	hæġla
dative	hæġle	hæġlum

Descendants

• Middle English: hayle, hail, hayl, haile, haiel, ail, hale, haul, hawle, hawel (< Old English hagol), hagol, haȝel, haȝol, hahȝel, haghil (chiefly early)
  • English: hail
  • Scots: hail