helvíti

See also: helviti

Icelandic

Etymology

From Old Norse helvíti, from Hel, hel (“the goddess of the realm of the dead”) (itself from Proto-Germanic *haljō, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- (“to cover, hide, conceal”)) + víti (“punishment”). Compare Faroese helviti, Norwegian and Swedish helvete, Danish helvede, also Old English hellewīte. Hel is the equivalent of Hades in Greek mythology.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈhɛl.viːtɪ/

Noun

helvíti n (genitive singular helvítis, nominative plural helvíti)

1. hell (place of punishment)

Derived terms

• helvítis (curse word)

Related terms

• hel

Adverb

helvíti

1. darn, damn (curse word used for emphasis, often positive)

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:andskoti

   Þetta er helvíti flott! ― That's darn well impressive!