hall

[hawl]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR hall ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a corridor or passageway in a building.

the large entrance room of a house or building; vestibule; lobby.

a large room or building for public gatherings; auditorium: convention hall; concert hall.

a large building for residence, instruction, or other purposes, at a college or university.

a college at a university.

(in English colleges)

a large room in which the members and students dine.
dinner in such a room.

British. a mansion or large residence, especially one on a large estate.

British Informal. music hall.

the chief room in a medieval castle or similar structure, used for eating, sleeping, and entertaining.

the castle, house, or similar structure of a medieval chieftain or noble.

Southeastern U.S.: Older Use. the living room or family room of a house.

Origin of hall

before 900; Middle English; Old English heall; cognate with Old Norse hǫll, German Halle; akin to Old English helan to cover, hide, Latin cēlāre to hide (see conceal)

Related formssub·hall, noun

Can be confusedhall haul

Hall

[hawl]

noun

A·saph

[ey-suh f] /ˈeɪ səf/, 1829–1907, U.S. astronomer: discovered the satellites of Mars.

Charles Francis,1821–71, U.S. Arctic explorer.

Charles Martin,1863–1914, U.S. chemist, metallurgist, and manufacturer.

Donald,born 1928, U.S. poet and editor.

Granville Stanley,1846–1924, U.S. psychologist and educator.

James Norman,1887–1951, U.S. novelist.

(Marguerite) Rad·clyffe [rad-klif] /ˈræd klɪf/, 1880–1943, English writer.

Prince,1748–1807, U.S. clergyman and abolitionist, born in Barbados: fought at Bunker Hill.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for hall

hallway, entrance, room, gallery, foyer, lobby, rotunda, arena, theater, gymnasium, amphitheater, lounge, chamber, church, auditorium, ballroom, gym, pass, passage, vestibule

Examples from the Web for hall

Contemporary Examples of hall

One day he and some of his roommates were cleaning their room and one of the guys threw the dustpan out into the hall.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile
Robert Ward
January 3, 2015
The padlocked door down the hall was now open, and I found my purse.
I Was Gang Raped at a UVA Frat 30 Years Ago, and No One Did Anything
Liz Seccuro
December 16, 2014
It will be in a hall, so of course they will have nothing to fear.
French Freak-Out Over Creepy Clowns
Tracy McNicoll
October 31, 2014
Hall even made it clear that his problem is less with the preferential admissions, but with the lack of transparency.
The University of Texas’s Machiavellian War on Its Regent
David Davis
October 27, 2014
The big twist is that by requesting those documents, Hall did in fact uncover a nepotism problem plaguing UT admissions.
The University of Texas’s Machiavellian War on Its Regent
David Davis
October 27, 2014

Historical Examples of hall

I found him crowned with garlands; for he had been offering sacrifices in the hall.
Philothea
Lydia Maria Child
The music flooded the hall and the room, so that the talk died low.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
"The bathroom is at the end of the hall," said Grace gently.
Grace Harlowe's Return to Overton Campus
Jessie Graham Flower
Stepping out into the hall she knocked lightly on Evelyn's door.
Grace Harlowe's Return to Overton Campus
Jessie Graham Flower
She entered the hall and glanced at him provokingly over her shoulder.
Viviette
William J. Locke

British Dictionary definitions for hall

hall

noun

a room serving as an entry area within a house or building

(sometimes capital) a building for public meetings

(often capital) the great house of an estate; manor

a large building or room used for assemblies, worship, concerts, dances, etc

a residential building, esp in a university; hall of residence

a large room, esp for dining, in a college or university
a meal eaten in this room

the large room of a house, castle, etc

US and Canadian a passage or corridor into which rooms open

(often plural) informal short for music hall

Word Origin for hall

Old English heall; related to Old Norse höll, Old High German halla hall, Latin cela cell 1, Old Irish cuile cellar, Sanskrit śālā hut; see hell

Hall

noun

Charles Martin. 1863–1914, US chemist: discovered the electrolytic process for producing aluminium

Sir John. 1824–1907, New Zealand statesman, born in England: prime minister of New Zealand (1879–82)

Sir Peter. born 1930, English stage director: director of the Royal Shakespeare Company (1960–73) and of the National Theatre (1973–88)

(Margueritte) Radclyffe . 1883–1943, British novelist and poet. Her frank treatment of a lesbian theme in the novel The Well of Loneliness (1928) led to an obscenity trial

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for hall

Old English heall "place covered by a roof, spacious roofed residence, temple, law-court," from Proto-Germanic *khallo "to cover, hide" (cf. Old Saxon, Old High German halla, German halle, Dutch hal, Old Norse höll "hall;" Old English hell, Gothic halja "hell"), from PIE root *kel- "to hide, conceal" (see cell). Sense of "entry, vestibule" evolved 17c., at a time when the doors opened onto the main room of a house. Older sense preserved in town hall, music hall, etc., and in university dormitory names. Hall of fame attested by 1786 as an abstract concept; in sporting sense first attested 1901, in reference to Columbia College.

hall in Medicine

Hall

[hôl]Granville Stanley 1844-1924

American psychologist who established an experimental psychology laboratory at Johns Hopkins University (1882), founded child psychology, and profoundly influenced educational psychology.