Hell \Hell\, v. t.
   To overwhelm. [Obs.] --Spenser.
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	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.]
   [1913 Webster]
   1. The place of the dead, or of souls after death; the grave;
      -- called in Hebrew sheol, and by the Greeks hades.
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            He descended into hell.               --Book of
                                                  Common Prayer.
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            Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell.  --Ps. xvi. 10.
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   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.
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            It is a knell
            That summons thee to heaven or to hell. --Shak.
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   3. A place where outcast persons or things are gathered; as:
      (a) A dungeon or prison; also, in certain running games, a
          place to which those who are caught are carried for
          detention.
      (b) A gambling house. "A convenient little gambling hell
          for those who had grown reckless." --W. Black.
      (c) A place into which a tailor throws his shreds, or a
          printer his broken type. --Hudibras.
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   Gates of hell. (Script.) See Gate, n., 4.
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	hell
    n 1: 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, hell on earth, hellhole,
         snake pit, the pits, inferno]
    2: a cause of difficulty and suffering; "war is hell"; "go to
       blazes" [syn: hell, 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"; "Hell is paved
       with good intentions"-Dr. Johnson [syn: Hell, perdition,
       Inferno, infernal region, nether region, pit] [ant:
       Heaven]
    4: (religion) the world of the dead; "No one goes to Hades with
       all his immense wealth"-Theognis [syn: Hell, Hades,
       infernal region, netherworld, Scheol, underworld]
    5: violent and excited activity; "they began to fight like sin"
       [syn: sin, hell]
    6: noisy and unrestrained mischief; "raising blazes" [syn:
       hell, blaze]

	

	101 Moby Thesaurus words for "hell":
   Abaddon, Acheron, Babel, Dis, Erebus, Gehenna, Hades, Pandemonium,
   Sheol, Styx, Tartarus, Tophet, Torrid Zone, abyss, affliction,
   agony, anguish, bedlam, betting house, betting parlor, blazes,
   bottomless pit, bowels, cacophony, cage, casino, castigation,
   censure, chaos, clawing, confusion of tongues, coop, crib,
   criticism, cruciation, crucifixion, deep space, deeps, depths,
   enclosure, equator, flat, furnace, gambling den, gambling hall,
   gambling hell, gambling house, gaming house, gaping depths, hades,
   hell upon earth, holocaust, horror, infernal pit, infernal regions,
   inferno, joint, laceration, lancination, limbo, lower world,
   martyrdom, misery, nether world, netherworld, nightmare, noise,
   ordeal, outer space, oven, pain, pandemonium, passion, pen,
   penfold, perdition, persecution, pinfold, pit,
   place of confinement, poolroom, pound, purgatory, rack, racket,
   reprimand, scolding, sporting house, static, steam bath,
   subtropics, suffering, torment, torture, trial, tropics,
   underworld, unfathomed deeps, unknown depths, upbraiding,
   wassail

	

	Hell
   derived from the Saxon helan, to cover; hence the covered or the
   invisible place. In Scripture there are three words so rendered:
   
     (1.) Sheol, occurring in the Old Testament sixty-five times.
   This word sheol is derived from a root-word meaning "to ask,"
   "demand;" hence insatiableness (Prov. 30:15, 16). It is rendered
   "grave" thirty-one times (Gen. 37:35; 42:38; 44:29, 31; 1 Sam.
   2:6, etc.). The Revisers have retained this rendering in the
   historical books with the original word in the margin, while in
   the poetical books they have reversed this rule.
   
     In thirty-one cases in the Authorized Version this word is
   rendered "hell," the place of disembodied spirits. The
   inhabitants of sheol are "the congregation of the dead" (Prov.
   21:16). It is (a) the abode of the wicked (Num. 16:33; Job
   24:19; Ps. 9:17; 31:17, etc.); (b) of the good (Ps. 16:10; 30:3;
   49:15; 86:13, etc.).
   
     Sheol is described as deep (Job 11:8), dark (10:21, 22), with
   bars (17:16). The dead "go down" to it (Num. 16:30, 33; Ezek.
   31:15, 16, 17).
   
     (2.) The Greek word hades of the New Testament has the same
   scope of signification as sheol of the Old Testament. It is a
   prison (1 Pet. 3:19), with gates and bars and locks (Matt.
   16:18; Rev. 1:18), and it is downward (Matt. 11:23; Luke 10:15).
   
     The righteous and the wicked are separated. The blessed dead
   are in that part of hades called paradise (Luke 23:43). They are
   also said to be in Abraham's bosom (Luke 16:22).
   
     (3.) Gehenna, in most of its occurrences in the Greek New
   Testament, designates the place of the lost (Matt. 23:33). The
   fearful nature of their condition there is described in various
   figurative expressions (Matt. 8:12; 13:42; 22:13; 25:30; Luke
   16:24, etc.). (See HINNOM.)