hail

Everyday

1. Hail is small balls of ice that fall from storm clouds like hard rain. tree →
2. To hail means to call out or wave to get someone's attention, such as hailing a taxi. tree →
3. A hail of things is a lot of them coming at once, like a hail of stones. tree →
4. To hail someone as something means to praise them loudly as that, like hailing a player as a hero. tree →
5. To hail from a place means to come from there. tree →
6. Hail can also be an old greeting, a way of saying hello to someone. tree →

In the lessons

In science and weather lessons hail is one kind of precipitation, made when raindrops are carried up high in a thunderstorm and freeze in layers; it is most common in warm-season thunderstorms, not in winter snow. In safety, hail tells you to get indoors and away from glass, because big hailstones can hurt people, dent cars and smash windows. In stories «hail» (verb) shows someone calling or greeting. Phrases: «a hailstorm», «hail a taxi/cab», «a hail of arrows/bullets», «hailed as a hero», «hails from Ireland».

Examples

• Hail bounced off the car roof like little marbles. tree →
• The hailstones were as big as peas. tree →
• We ran into the shed when the hail started. tree →
• Dad stood on the corner and hailed a taxi. tree →
• The captain hailed the other ship. tree →
• The new goalkeeper was hailed as a hero after the save. tree →
• The farmer's crops were flattened by a hailstorm. tree →
• My grandad hails from a small town in Scotland. tree →
• A hail of acorns fell when the wind shook the tree. tree →
• "Hail, fair maiden!" says the hunter. tree →

Note

«Hail» (ice) is uncountable: «some hail», «a lot of hail»; one piece is «a hailstone». Hail is not the same as sleet (half-melted snow mixed with rain) or snow (soft ice crystals). Homophone: «hale» (healthy, as in «hale and hearty»). Past: «hailed». Myth: hail does not only come in winter; it usually comes from summer thunderstorms.

In Jewish tradition

The plague of hail did not strike Goshen, where the Israelites lived. The Psalms remember it, saying God destroyed Egypt's vines with hail, and also list hail among the storms that carry out His word.

Interpretation. The seventh plague shows God's power over nature. Pharaoh admits his sin and then hardens his heart again. The Psalms are read as saying that hail, fire and storm are God's servants.

Examples

• Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, was there no hail. (Torah EXO.9.26, JPS 1917) tree →
• Entreat the LORD, and let there be enough of these mighty thunderings and hail; and I will let you go, and ye shall stay no longer.' (Torah EXO.9.28, JPS 1917) tree →
• And when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunders were ceased, he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart, he and his servants. (Torah EXO.9.34, JPS 1917) tree →
• He destroyed their vines with hail, and their sycamore-trees with frost. (Writings PSA.78.47, JPS 1917) tree →
• Fire and hail, snow and vapour, stormy wind, fulfilling His word; (Writings PSA.148.8, JPS 1917) tree →
• He gave them hail for rain, and flaming fire in their land. (Writings PSA.105.32, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

«Hail» (ice) is uncountable: «some hail», «a lot of hail»; one piece is «a hailstone». Hail is not the same as sleet (half-melted snow mixed with rain) or snow (soft ice crystals). Homophone: «hale» (healthy, as in «hale and hearty»). Past: «hailed». Myth: hail does not only come in winter; it usually comes from summer thunderstorms.

Early Modern English

Meaning

small balls of ice that fall from storms; in the fairy tale, a greeting meaning welcome. tree →

Then and now

Today 'hail' as a greeting is old; we say hello or greetings. The ice sense is still used.

Examples

• Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, was there no hail. (Torah EXO.9.26, JPS 1917) tree →
• "Hail, fair maiden!" says the hunter. (Russian Fairy Tales: A Choice Collection of Muscovite Folk-lore) tree →
• Entreat the LORD, and let there be enough of these mighty thunderings and hail; and I will let you go, and ye shall stay no longer.' (Torah EXO.9.28, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

Today: hail, greeting.