wes hāl
Hi in Old English is expressed as wes hāl.
The phrase is used as a friendly, informal greeting. It functions as a way to wish someone well, similar to the meaning behind the related expression Wes þū hāl, which translates to "May you be well".
Meaning: friendly, informal greeting (intj)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is built from wes , the imperative of wesan (to be), and hāl (whole, healthy), so it literally means "be healthy".
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase wes hāl is in the second-person singular imperative mood, which essentially serves as a command for the person to "be well". Because it is singular, you must change both the verb and the adjective if you are greeting more than one person. In that case, use the plural form wesað hāle.
Did you know?
- The word hāl is a cognate of the Old Norse 'heill' and the modern German 'heil'.
- The root of hāl also appears in the word 'hale' as in the phrase 'hale and hearty'. This is a direct survival of the Old English greeting's logic in modern English idioms.
