What is "hell"

Hell \Hell\, n. [AS. hell; akin to D. hel, OHG. hella, G. h["o]lle, Icel. hal, Sw. helfvete, Dan. helvede, Goth. halja, and to AS. helan to conceal. ???. Cf. Hele, v. t., Conceal, Cell, Helmet, Hole, Occult.]

1. The place of the dead, or of souls after death; the grave; -- called in Hebrew sheol, and by the Greeks hades.

   He descended into hell.
   --Book of Common Prayer.

   Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell.
   --Ps. xvi. 10.

2. The place or state of punishment for the wicked after death; the abode of evil spirits. Hence, any mental torment; anguish. ``Within him hell.''
   --Milton.

   It is a knell That summons thee to heaven or to hell.
   --Shak.

3. A place where outcast persons or things are gathered; as:

   1. A dungeon or prison; also, in certain running games, a place to which those who are caught are carried for detention.

   2. A gambling house. ``A convenient little gambling hell for those who had grown reckless.''
      --W. Black.

   3. A place into which a tailor throws his shreds, or a printer his broken type.
      --Hudibras.

      Gates of hell. (Script.) See Gate, n.,

Hell \Hell\, v. t. To overwhelm. [Obs.]
--Spenser.

Old English hel, helle, "nether world, abode of the dead, infernal regions," from Proto-Germanic *haljo "the underworld" (cognates: f. Old Frisian helle, Dutch hel, Old Norse hel, German Hölle, Gothic halja "hell") "the underworld," literally "concealed place" (compare Old Norse hellir "cave, cavern"), from PIE *kel- (2) "to cover, conceal" (see cell).\n

\nThe English word may be in part from Old Norse Hel (from Proto-Germanic *halija "one who covers up or hides something"), in Norse mythology the name of Loki's daughter, who rules over the evil dead in Niflheim, the lowest of all worlds (nifl "mist"). Transfer of a pagan concept and word to a Christian idiom. In Middle English, also of the Limbus Patrum, place where the Patriarchs, Prophets, etc. awaited the Atonement. Used in the KJV for Old Testament Hebrew Sheol and New Testament Greek Hades, Gehenna. Used figuratively for "state of misery, any bad experience" since at least late 14c. As an expression of disgust, etc., first recorded 1670s.\n

\nExpression Hell in a handbasket is attested by 1867, in a context implying use from a few years before, and the notion of going to Heaven in a handbasket is from 1853, with a sense of "easy passage" to the destination. Hell or high water (1874) apparently is a variation of between the devil and the deep blue sea. To wish someone would go to hell is in Shakespeare ("Merchant of Venice"). Snowball's chance in hell "no chance" is from 1931; till hell freezes over "never" is from 1832. To ride hell for leather is from 1889, originally with reference to riding on horseback. Hell on wheels is said to be from 1843 in DAS; popularity dates from 1869 in reference to the temporary workers' towns along the U.S. transcontinental railroad and their vices.

interj. 1 (context impolite sometimes considered vulgar English) (non-gloss definition: Used to express discontent, unhappiness, or anger.) 2 (context impolite sometimes considered vulgar English) (non-gloss definition: Used to emphasize.) n. 1 (context countable hyperbole English) A place or situation of great suffering in life. 2 (context countable English) A place for gambling. 3 An extremely hot place. 4 (non-gloss definition: Used as an intensifier in phrases grammatically requiring a noun) 5 (context obsolete English) A place into which a tailor throws his shreds, or a printer his broken type. 6 In certain games of chase, a place to which those who are caught are carried for detention. n. 1 In various religions, the place where some or all spirits are believed to go after death 2 (context Abrahamic religions uncountable English) The place where devils live and where sinners are tortured after death

1. n. any place of pain and turmoil; "the hell of battle"; "the inferno of the engine room"; "when you're alone Christmas is the pits"; [syn: hell on earth, hellhole, snake pit, the pits, inferno]

2. a cause of difficulty and suffering; "war is hell"; "go to blazes" [syn: blaze]

3. (Christianity) the abode of Satan and the forces of evil; where sinners suffer eternal punishment; "Hurl'd headlong...To bottomless perdition, there to dwell"- John Milton; "a demon from the depths of the pit" [syn: perdition, Inferno, infernal region, nether region, the pit] [ant: Heaven]

4. (religion) the world of the dead; "he didn't want to go to hell when he died" [syn: Hel, Hades, infernal region, netherworld, Scheol, underworld]

5. violent and excited activity; "they began to fight like sin" [syn: sin]

6. noisy and unrestrained mischief; "raising blazes" [syn: blaze]

Hell, in many religions, is a place of suffering during the afterlife, where wicked or unrighteous souls are punished.

Hell (L'enfer) is a French film, released in 2005 and directed by Danis Tanović. It is based on a script originally drafted by Krzysztof Kieślowski and Krzysztof Piesiewicz, which was meant to be the second film in a trilogy with the titles Heaven, Hell and Purgatory. The script was finished by Piesiewicz after Kieślowski died in 1996. The movie stars Emmanuelle Béart, Marie Gillain and Carole Bouquet.

Hell is a Hieronymus Bosch painting made after 1490. It is currently in the Palazzo Ducale, in Venice, Italy.

This painting is part of a series of four, the others are Ascent of the Blessed, Terrestrial Paradise and Fall of the Damned into Hell. In this panel it shows the punishment of the wicked with diverse kinds of torture laid out by demons.

Hell is a lunar crater in the south of the Moon's near side, within the western half of the enormous walled plain Deslandres. To the southeast, also within Deslandres, is the larger crater Lexell, and about 9° to the south lies the prominent Tycho crater. The crater received its name in 1935 after the Hungarian astronomer and ordained Jesuit priest Maximilian Hell. It has 19 satellite craters with diameters ranging between about 3 and 22 km. Nearly all Hell craters are relatively flat and shallow, with a sharp, well-defined rim and a typical diameter-to-depth ratio of about 10.

In many mythological, folklore and religious traditions, hell is a place of torment and punishment in an afterlife. It is viewed by most Abrahamic traditions as punishment. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as eternal destinations. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations. Typically these traditions locate hell in another dimension or under the Earth's surface and often include entrances to Hell from the land of the living. Other afterlife destinations include Heaven, Purgatory, Paradise, and Limbo.

Other traditions, which do not conceive of the afterlife as a place of punishment or reward, merely describe hell as an abode of the dead, the grave, a neutral place located under the surface of Earth (for example, see sheol and Hades). Hell is sometimes portrayed as populated with demons who torment those dwelling there. Many are ruled by a death god such as Nergal, Hades, Hel, Enma or the Devil.

"Hell" is the first episode of the second series of the Channel 4 sitcom Father Ted, and the seventh episode overall.

In this episode, Graham Norton makes his first of three appearances as Father Noel Furlong.

"Hell" is the first single by American rock band Disturbed from their first b-sides compilation album, The Lost Children.

The song was originally released as a b-side from their single " Stricken", off their third album Ten Thousand Fists. "Hell" was also released as a bonus track on the UK version of Ten Thousand Fists in 2005.

As a single in its own right, the song hit radio stations on October 11, 2011. Disturbed's frontman David Draiman stated on his Twitter page that there is no video shoot for the single. An audio-only recording is available on YouTube.

Hell is a 1908 novel by Henri Barbusse, in which the unnamed narrator peers into a hole in the wall of his hotel room. From the other side, he witnesses lesbianism, adultery, incest, and death. It is only when he feels he has uncovered all the secrets of life that he decides to leave the room for good. But, as he attempts to leave, he is overcome with a backache and blindness.

Colin Wilson gave considerable attention to Barbusse's novel in his influential work The Outsider.

Hell is the 41st studio album by American musician James Brown. The album was released on June 28, 1974, by Polydor Records.

Hell is the twelfth studio album by heavy metal band Venom. It was released in 2008 through Universal. It is the first Venom album to feature La Rage on guitar and the last to feature Antton on drums, who left Venom in 2009 and was replaced by Danté.

L'Enfer ("Hell") is a 1994 French film directed by Claude Chabrol. It was adapted by Chabrol from the screenplay by Henri-Georges Clouzot for the unfinished film L'Enfer, which Clouzot began shooting in 1964 but was unable to complete. The producer of Chabrol's film was Marin Karmitz and the leading actors were Emmanuelle Béart and François Cluzet.

Hell, in comics, may refer to:

• Hell (DC Comics) a DC Comics location
• Hell, a Marvel Comics location occupied by a number of devils

Hell is EP by American indie pop band The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, released on November 13, 2015 via their own label, Painbow Records.

Hell is an etching by Estonian artist Eduard Wiiralt, from 1932.

Hell (also Gehenna, Hades, Hel, Jahannam, Sheol, Tartarus) is a fictional location, an infernal underworld utilized in titles published by DC Comics. It is the locational antithesis of the Silver City. The DC Comics location known as Hell is based heavily on its depiction in Abrahamic mythology. Aside from a brief appearance in DC Special Series #8 (1977) that was never referred to again, the DC Comics concept of Hell was first mentioned in Swamp Thing (vol. 2) #27 (July 1984), described by Alan Moore, and was first seen in Swamp Thing Annual #2 (January 1985), written by Moore and depicted by Steve Bissette and John Totleben.

The hierarchy of Hell, specifically the triumvirate of ( Lucifer, Beelzebub, and Azazel), was first depicted in The Sandman #4 (April 1989), and was created by Neil Gaiman and Sam Kieth; in the story, Lucifer had been forced to accept the rule due to the disruption caused by the Darkness' attack in Swamp Thing. Hellblazer would add in the First of the Fallen, who predates Lucifer. In Who's Who in the DC Universe #11 (July 1991), the entry on "Hell's Hierarchy" included all the elements of Gaiman's version, plus John Constantine's archfoe Nergal, Agony and Ecstasy (from Hellblazer #12), Asteroth, Abaddon the Destroyer, Morax, and Superman's demonic foe Blaze, who, with Satanus, came to rule Hell in DC's 2008-2009 Reign in Hell limited series.

El Infierno is a 2010 Mexican black comedy crime film produced by Bandidos Films, directed by Luis Estrada and following the line of La ley de Herodes. The film is a political satire about drug trafficking, organized crime, and the Mexican Drug War. The film has been a critical and commercial success in Mexico.

The film was nominated for the 25th Goya Awards for Best Spanish Language Foreign Film.

El Infierno is rated NC-17 by the MPAA for some graphic violence and explicit sexual content. In Australia, where more stringent censorship exists, the movie is rated MA-15+.

Hell are an English heavy metal band from Derbyshire, formed in 1982 from the remaining members of bands Race Against Time and Paralex. Due to a series of unfortunate and tragic events, the band originally folded in 1987. They were amongst the first bands to wear proto- corpse paint as part of their stage show, which features hysterical ranting from a Gargoyle-adorned pulpit, along with the use of a pyrotechnic exploding Bible which caused outrage amongst the clergy when it originally appeared in 1983.

Although they were largely ignored by the media and record companies in the 1980s, their music became known through the underground tape trading phenomenon, and the band achieved a degree of cult status. In 2008 they reunited, and were signed by Nuclear Blast. Their first full-length album, Human Remains, was released May 2011. The album topped at No. 46 on the German album chart in its first week of release.

Hell is a 2011 German-Swiss post-apocalyptic film directed by Tim Fehlbaum in his directorial debut.The German-language screenplay was written by Fehlbaum, Oliver Kahl and Thomas Woebke. The experienced director Roland Emmerich, known for films such as Independence Day and 2012, acted as executive producer, with Gabriele Walther and Wöbke acting as producers.

The film is about a young woman named Marie ( Hannah Herzsprung), her boyfriend Phillip ( Lars Eidinger) and her younger sister Leonie ( Lisa Vicari) who are driving through the blighted wasteland of Germany after a climate crisis has destroyed society. Parched by thirst, the trio scavenge for water, gas and supplies. The trio are joined by a male survivor, Tom ( Stipe Erceg), who they encounter in the ruins. Later, after the group is ambushed by carjackers who abduct Leonie and take the vehicle, all of the group end up being captured by a farming family who hold survivors in the farm's former slaughterhouse to use them as a source of food.

Hell is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:

• Anne Chrétien Louis de Hell (1783–1864), French admiral, politician and governor
• Carl Magnus von Hell (1849–1926), German chemist
• Coleman Hell, Canadian singer, producer and songwriter
• Maximilian Hell (1720–1792), astronomer
• Pavol Hell, Czech-born Canadian mathematician and computer scientist
• Richard Hell (Richard Meyers; born 1949), American singer, songwriter and writer
• Rudolf Hell (1901–2002), German inventor
• Stefan Hell, (born 1962), physicist
• Thom Hell, Norwegian singer and songwriter