hella

Related to "a hell of a". Originally Northern California slang. Compare helluv, helluva.

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈhɛl.ə/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛlə

hella

1. (slang, chiefly Northern California) Intensifier, signifies an abundance of a thing; much or many.

   There are hella people here.

   • 2016, Life Is Strange, spoken by Chloe Price (Ashly Burch), Square Enix, via Dontnod Entertainment:

     Now, let’s talk bidness.
     I got nothing for you.
     Wrong. You got hella cash.

   • 2023 August 20, Kelefa Sanneh, quoting Fatimah Nyeema Warner, “Noname’s Ambivalent, Triumphant Comeback”, in The New Yorker‎^[1], →ISSN:

     (“We practiced it hella times, but it’s new, and I can’t really get it on top of the music yet,” she explained.)

• (intensifier; much or many): bare, mad

hella

1. (slang, chiefly Northern California) A lot; very much.

   We paid hella for that Chinese cuisine.

hella (not comparable)

1. (slang, chiefly Northern California) Intensifier, modifying verbs; to a large extent; totally; very much.

   I can't tell you how much I hella love the new track.

   Jane was driving away, and the door was open, so I hella ran for it.

   Oh, today's Cyrell's bday. We hella sang her happy birthday at the spot.

   • 2016, Life Is Strange, spoken by Chloe Price (Hannah Telle as Max Caulfield and Ashly Burch), Square Enix, via Dontnod Entertainment:

     You’re right. We hella deserve it. Splish splash!
     Did you actually just say "hella"? I think I’m a good bad influence on you.

2. (slang, potentially considered vulgar, chiefly regional US, African-American Vernacular and Internet slang) Intensifier, modifying adjectives; to a large degree; extremely; exceedingly.

   I guess she seems hella stoned in her commercial.

   I've been a Star Wars fan since I was hella young.

   • 2014, Taylor Swift (lyrics and music), “Shake It Off”:

     "And to the fella over there / With the hella good hair / Won't you come on over, baby / We can shake, shake, shake"

   • 2016, Life Is Strange, spoken by Chloe Price (Ashly Burch), Square Enix, via Dontnod Entertainment:

     The storm got hella crazy and... and you said we would be safe at the lighthouse.

• (extremely, modifies adjectives): wicked (especially northeastern US)

hella

1. (slang, chiefly Northern California) For sure; totally; hell yeah; used as a strong affirmation of something that was just said, accomplished, or revealed.

   "We definitely rocked that shit man!"
   "Hella!"

• hecka (euphemism)
• helluv
• helluva

• For quotations using this term, see Citations:hella.

Shortened form, or elision, of phrases like "hell have", approximating casual speech in writing.

hella

1. (nonstandard) Contraction of Hell have.

   Where the hella you been?

• Waksler, Rachelle (San Francisco State University), "A HELLA New Specifier". [2]

• Halle

Borrowed from Swedish häll.

• IPA^(key): /ˈhelːɑ/, [ˈhe̞lːɑ̝]
• Rhymes: -elːɑ
• Hyphenation^(key): hel‧la

hella

1. range, stove (for cooking, sometimes specifically a wood-powered stove)

   Synonym: liesi

2. (colloquial) oven

   Synonym: uuni

• “hella”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎^[3] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2023-07-02

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

• IPA^(key): /ˈhɛtla/
• Rhymes: -ɛtla

hella f (genitive singular hellu, nominative plural hellur)

1. paving stone, slab, paver

   Að leggja hellur.

   To pave.

hella (weak verb, third-person singular past indicative hellti, supine hellt)

1. (transitive, governs the dative) to pour

   Stundum vil ég bara hella kaffi í stóra víða skál og lepja það eins og lítill kettlingur.

   Sometimes I just want to pour coffee in a big wide bowl and lap it up like a little kitten.

2. (transitive, governs the dative) to pour out

   Ég hellti öllu gosinu þínu.

   I poured out all your soda.

• hellen

hella m or f

1. definite feminine singular of helle

hella f

1. definite singular of helle

From Proto-Germanic *hallijǭ. Related to hallr.

hella f (genitive hellu)

1. flat stone, slab of rock

• hellnagrjót n
• hellusteinn m

• hallr m (“rock”)
• hellir m (“cavern”)

• Icelandic: hella
• Norwegian Nynorsk: helle
• Norwegian Bokmål: helle

From the adjective hallr (“sloping”).

hella

1. to pour out

Conjugation

Conjugation of hella — active (weak class 1)

infinitive	hella
present participle	hellandi
past participle	helltr
indicative	present	past
1st-person singular	helli	hellta
2nd-person singular	hellir	helltir
3rd-person singular	hellir	hellti
1st-person plural	hellum	helltum
2nd-person plural	hellið	helltuð
3rd-person plural	hella	helltu
subjunctive	present	past
1st-person singular	hella	hellta
2nd-person singular	hellir	helltir
3rd-person singular	helli	hellti
1st-person plural	hellim	helltim
2nd-person plural	hellið	helltið
3rd-person plural	helli	hellti
imperative	present
2nd-person singular	hell, helli
1st-person plural	hellum
2nd-person plural	hellið

Conjugation of hella — mediopassive (weak class 1)

infinitive	hellask
present participle	hellandisk
past participle	hellzk
indicative	present	past
1st-person singular	hellumk	helltumk
2nd-person singular	hellisk	helltisk
3rd-person singular	hellisk	helltisk
1st-person plural	hellumsk	helltumsk
2nd-person plural	hellizk	helltuzk
3rd-person plural	hellask	helltusk
subjunctive	present	past
1st-person singular	hellumk	helltumk
2nd-person singular	hellisk	helltisk
3rd-person singular	hellisk	helltisk
1st-person plural	hellimsk	helltimsk
2nd-person plural	hellizk	helltizk
3rd-person plural	hellisk	helltisk
imperative	present
2nd-person singular	hellsk, hellisk
1st-person plural	hellumsk
2nd-person plural	hellizk

Descendants

• Icelandic: hella
• Norwegian Nynorsk: hella
• Swedish: hälla
• Danish: hælde
  • Norwegian Bokmål: helle

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Noun

hella

1. accusative plural and genitive plural of hellir

References

• “hella”, in Geir T. Zoëga (1910) A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press