háll

See also: hall, håll, häll, Hall, and Häll

Icelandic

Etymology

From Old Norse háll, from Proto-Germanic *hēlaz (“slippery, deceitful”), related to Middle Low German hāl (“hidden”) and Old High German hāli (“smooth, slippery, weak”). Further etymology unsure:

• Maybe from the Proto-Indo-European root *ḱel- (“to hide”) (compare Proto-Germanic *helaną (“to conceal, hide”)), with semantic shift "hide" > "treacherous" > "slippery";

• or from *ḱelH- (“to freeze”) (compare Albanian thjellët);

• or from *kelH- (“to incline”).

Possible cognates in Icelandic are héla (“hoarfrost”) and hagl (“hail”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈhautl/
• Rhymes: -autl

Adjective

háll (comparative hálli or hálari, superlative hálastur)

1. slippery

   Synonym: sleipur

Declension

positive forms of háll

strong declension (indefinite)	singular	masculine	feminine	neuter
	nominative	háll	hál	hált
	accusative	hálan	hála
	dative	hálum	hálli	hálu
	genitive	háls	hállar	háls
	plural	masculine	feminine	neuter
	nominative	hálir	hálar	hál
	accusative	hála
	dative	hálum
	genitive	hálla
weak declension (definite)	singular	masculine	feminine	neuter
	nominative	háli	hála	hála
	acc/dat/gen	hála	hálu
	plural (all-case)	hálu

comparative forms of háll

weak declension (definite)		masculine	feminine	neuter
	singular (all-case)	hálli, hálari	hálli, hálari	hálla, hálara
	plural (all-case)	hálli, hálari

superlative forms of háll

strong declension (indefinite)	singular	masculine	feminine	neuter
	nominative	hálastur	hálust	hálast
	accusative	hálastan	hálasta
	dative	hálustum	hálastri	hálustu
	genitive	hálasts	hálastrar	hálasts
	plural	masculine	feminine	neuter
	nominative	hálastir	hálastar	hálust
	accusative	hálasta
	dative	hálustum
	genitive	hálastra
weak declension (definite)	singular	masculine	feminine	neuter
	nominative	hálasti	hálasta	hálasta
	acc/dat/gen	hálasta	hálustu
	plural (all-case)	hálustu

Derived terms

• hálka (“slipperiness; slippery ice, glaze”)