Standard Lemma guide

helly

adj · name · noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈhɛ.li/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • homophone: heli
  • rhymes with -ɛli

1

adj

Meaning 1

Hellish, infernal.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: obsolete

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: Hadean, stygian, Acherontic, infernal, hellish, helly, Plutonic, Plutonian, subtartarean, Tartarean

Antonyms: none provided

2

name

Meaning 2

A surname from German, notably held by Eduard Helly.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

Synonym of hell.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: mildly, slang, vulgar

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: hell

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From Middle English helly, hellic, from Old English hellīċ (“of hell, hellish, infernal”), equivalent to hell + -y.

From hell + -y