hail

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. Precipitation in the form of spherical or irregular pellets of ice larger than 5 millimeters (0.2 inches) in diameter.
2. n. Something that falls with the force and quantity of a shower of ice and hard snow: a hail of pebbles; a hail of criticism.
3. v. To precipitate in pellets of ice and hard snow.
4. v. To fall like hailstones: Condemnations hailed down on them.
5. v. To pour (something) down or forth: They hailed insults at me.
6. v. To salute or greet.
7. v. To greet or acclaim enthusiastically: The crowds hailed the boxing champion.
8. v. To call out or yell in order to catch the attention of: hail a cabdriver.
9. v. To signal or call to a passing ship as a greeting or identification.
10. n. The act of greeting or acclaiming.
11. n. A shout made to catch someone's attention or to greet.
12. n. Hailing distance: told me to stay within hail.
13. interj. Used to express a greeting or tribute.
14. hail from To come or originate from: She hails from Texas.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. Pellets of ice falling in showers. These pellets, called hailstones, frequently consist of a kernel of hard snow in the center, surrounded by alternate concentric layers of ice and snow; in other cases they have a radial structure. They assume various shapes, most commonly spheroidal, but some are pyramidal, others flat, and others irregularly oval. In size they are usually from a tenth to a quarter of an inch in diameter, but masses measuring from l2 to 15 inches in circumference and weighing over half a pound are of occasional occurrence. The fall of hail occurs chiefly in spring and summer, and most commonly precedes or accompanies a thunder-storm. The time of its continuance is always short, generally only a few minutes. The length of time requisite for the accretion of the larger hailstones is now believed to be obtained by the continued retention and repeated elevation in the atmosphere of a pellet, initially small, which is several times drawn into a current of moist air having a rapid ascensional and gyratory motion; in this way it is carried through successive regions of rain and snow. In a ship's log-book, abbreviated h.
2. To pour down hail.
3. To pour down or put forth like hail; emit in rapid succession.
4. See hale.
5. Be whole; be safe; be happy: a term of salutation now used without thought of its literal meaning, and merely as an exclamatory expression of well-wishing: used absolutely, or followed by a noun with to.
6. To salute; welcome; address.
7. To call to, as a person, or, by metonymy, a place, house, ship, etc., at a distance; cry out to in order to attract attention.
8. To offer or exchange greeting or tidings; report or declare one's self.
9. n. A salutation; greeting; call; summons; challenge of attention.
10. n. The varions responses made by naval officers at night to the sentry, by which the latter may learn the rank of the officer approaching the vessel, are as follows: Flag-officers answer “flag!” the captain gives the name of his ship; the ward-room officers answer, “Aye, aye!” the steerage and warrant officers answer, “No, no!” and petty officers and members of the crew answer, “Hello!” Yachtsmen have adopted this code with a slight modification.

Wiktionary

1. n. Balls or pieces of ice falling as precipitation, often in connection with a thunderstorm.
2. v. Said of the weather when hail is falling.
3. v. to send or release hail
4. v. to greet
5. v. to praise enthusiastically
6. v. to call out loudly in order to gain the attention of
7. adj. Healthy, whole, safe.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. Small roundish masses of ice precipitated from the clouds, where they are formed by the congelation of vapor. The separate masses or grains are called hailstones.
2. v. To pour down particles of ice, or frozen vapors.
3. v. To pour forcibly down, as hail.
4. adj. Healthy. See hale (the preferable spelling).
5. v. To call loudly to, or after; to accost; to salute; to address.
6. v. To name; to designate; to call.
7. v. To declare, by hailing, the port from which a vessel sails or where she is registered; hence, to sail; to come; -- used with from.
8. v. To report as one's home or the place from whence one comes; to come; -- with from.
9. interj. An exclamation of respectful or reverent salutation, or, occasionally, of familiar greeting.
10. n. A wish of health; a salutation; a loud call.

WordNet 3.0

1. v. call for
2. v. praise vociferously
3. v. precipitate as small ice particles
4. v. be a native of
5. n. precipitation of ice pellets when there are strong rising air currents
6. n. many objects thrown forcefully through the air
7. v. greet enthusiastically or joyfully
8. n. enthusiastic greeting