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]

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
   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.)