It was hailing heavily and the aircraft could not withstand the extreme weather conditions and it crashed. All the victims who died were hale and fit.
Hail and hale are common words of the English vocabulary that can be quite confusing. If you wish to be well versed in the English language then you should know their meanings by heart or else you might surprise someone with their wrong usage. The word hail has a handful of meanings, five to be precise, while the word hale has three meanings, two of which are quite uncommon.
Hale usually refers to an old person who is fit and lively and free from illnesses, but it could also be used for any healthy individual as long as he is well and strong. There are two very rare uses using its verb form. The first means to haul slowly and the second means to cause someone to do something through compulsion.
Let’s now look at the various meanings of ‘hail.’ Hail as a noun means frozen rain. In the verb sense, it means to fall from the sky or precipitate. ‘You could say it’s hailing outside,’ or ‘hail is falling on the roof.’ It also means to salute. You must’ve heard of the phrase ‘all hail the king’ which is a very common phrase that runs all over the TV. Hail also means to call. Finally, hail can also tell where you originate from as in your home land. If you want to understand their differences better, you should go ahead and read the content below.
Hail vs hale – definitions, uses and example sentences
Definition of hail
The noun form of hail refers to a form of precipitation; when ice balls fall from the sky. Its verb form means to pour down. Hail also means to call out to grab someone’s attention. A place you hail from is your homeland or birthplace. Finally, hail also means to salute, greet or praise. For example, ‘All hail the mighty king.’
1. Example sentences of hail – verb form:
- To call out:
The impatient visitor was anxious to get a room quickly so he hailed the receptionist curtly.
This sentence describes what happened in a hotel when a guest arrived. The new comer who was impatient to book a room called out to the receptionist gruffly.
- To call out:
The king hailed his royal vizier when he couldn’t find the answer to a delicate state matter.
A king called out on his high ranking political advisor or vizier to deal with an important state matter.
- To precipitate as frozen particles:
The weather forecast showed that it was going to hail heavily for a couple of hours and they were stuck indoors.
A few people were stuck at their home because of extreme weather conditions. A weather forecast showed that it was going to hail heavily.
- To precipitate as frozen particles:
It hailed in the wild forest all night and the temperature dropped below zero degrees Celsius because of which many animals froze to their death.
An untimely hail made the temperature fall too low in the forest because of which unprepared animals suddenly froze to their deaths.
- To fall down through the air:
The men fought ferociously before grenades hailed down on them.
This sentence describes a scene from a battlefield. Soldiers fought fiercely before bombs rained down on them.
- To come from:
I hail from Australia. Where do you hail from? The passenger asked the man next to him.
During a flight, a passenger told a man about his homeland and also inquired about his.
- To salute or shout praises:
The crowd at the airport hailed the cricketers when they arrived after winning the T20 World Cup.
When the winning cricket team returned home after a tough and endearing T20 battle the local people cheered (hailed) them vociferously at the airport.
2. Example sentences of hail – noun form:
- Frozen rain:
‘We could hear the hail pounding on the rooftop from inside the house,’ narrated the widow.
A widow recounted an incident when it hailed too severely and she could hear it hammering against her roof.
- When objects are hurled through the air:
In the famous animated movie Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, a local scientist builds a machine that produces a massive hail of food dishes.
In the famous animated movie Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, a scientist figures out a way to convert water into food which rains down from the sky.
Definition of hale
Hale is a noun which signifies people who are strong and enjoy vigorous good health. These are the kind of people who eat organic foods and live in the countryside and never require going to the doctor; this is the first impression that you get when you hear of the word hale.
There are two verb meanings of hale that don’t occur often. The first means ‘to haul very slowly’ and the second means ‘to make someone do something through compelling or pressurizing.’
1. Example sentences of hale – noun form:
- Fit and healthy:
He was hale and hearty and visited us often. It is a shock to me how he could have died so soon.
In this sentence, a woman recounts her visits from a distant relative who was fit and lively but died too sooner too suddenly.
- Fit and healthy:
After going through the several test reports, the doctor smiled towards my grandad and said, ‘You’re still hale and hearty so there’s no reason to grieve over temporary fatigue.’
My grandad was feeling fatigue which he doesn’t feel normally so we got him checked and tested for several diseases but to our relief he was completely fine and healthy.
2. Example sentences of hale – verb form:
- To haul or drag slowly:
India suffered a hard blow during the latest wave of the COVID-19. In the videos running in the news, you could see people haling the bodies of the afflicted to the sides of the roads which remained completely unattended.
Hale in this sentence implies the meaning ‘drag’ or ‘haul’. In the month of April 2021, death toll because of COVID-19 increased exponentially in India. In the videos showcased in the news, roadsides were lined with victims who were being dragged around and there was no one to attend them.
- To haul or drag slowly:
The psychotic killer haled the victim to his secret basement that contained strange machines designed for sever torture.
A deranged killer dragged his unconscious victim to a secretive hideout that had all kinds of machinery that could be used for tormenting people.
- Cause to do through compulsion:
The Chief Justice haled the assassins of the poor man to court so that Justice could be served.
This sentence describes that the Chief Justice summoned the cruel murderers of a poor man to court so that they could be sentenced and the justice served.
With so many meanings to work with, it can be quite challenging to remember them all. The meanings are quite simple to understand and you can remember them if you keep them concise. Let’s recount what we’ve learned so far. Hale means a healthy person, to haul and to compel or pressurize. All the other meanings are associated with hail. Here’s a list of hail’s meanings. To precipitate frozen particles, precipitation of frozen particles, to salute, call and come from.
