Heil og sæl
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Heil og sæl (
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
: lit. ''healthy and happy'') is a common greeting in
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.


Etymology

Originally a Norse greeting, “heil og sæl” had the form “heill ok sæll” when addressed to a man and “heil ok sæl” when addressed to a woman. Other versions were “ver heill ok sæll” (lit. ''be healthy and happy'') and simply “heill” (lit. ''healthy'').Heggstad 2012:254. The Norwegian adjective ''heil'' (also ''hel'') is related to the English adjective ''whole''/''hale''. The Norwegian verb ''heile'' (also ''hele'') is related to the English verb ''heal'' through their common origin, the Germanic word stem ''*haila-'', from which also the German verb ''heilen'' and the adjective „heile“, i.e. functioning / not defect descends. The Norwegian adjective ''sæl'', meaning ''happy'' or ''glad'', is in Old English documented only in the negated variant ''unsǣle'', meaning ''evil''.Bjorvand & Lindemand 2001:900.


20th-century use

According to ''
Store norske leksikon The ''Great Norwegian Encyclopedia'' ( no, Store Norske Leksikon, abbreviated ''SNL''), is a Norwegian-language online encyclopedia. The online encyclopedia is among the most-read Norwegian published sites, with more than two million unique vis ...
'', the originally Norse greeting “heill ok sæll” was—adjusted to modern orthography and pronunciation—adopted as “heil og sæl” by the political party
Nasjonal Samling Nasjonal Samling (, NS; ) was a Norwegian far-right political party active from 1933 to 1945. It was the only legal party of Norway from 1942 to 1945. It was founded by former minister of defence Vidkun Quisling and a group of supporters such a ...
.
Store norske leksikon The ''Great Norwegian Encyclopedia'' ( no, Store Norske Leksikon, abbreviated ''SNL''), is a Norwegian-language online encyclopedia. The online encyclopedia is among the most-read Norwegian published sites, with more than two million unique vis ...

heil
/ref> According to ''
Bokmålsordboka Bokmålsordboka () is a dictionary of the Norwegian written language called Bokmål (lit. "book language"). It is published by the Department of Linguistics and Scandinavian Studies at the University of Oslo in cooperation with the Norwegian Languag ...
'', the adoption was inspired by Germany's “
Heil Hitler The Nazi salute, also known as the Hitler salute (german: link=no, Hitlergruß, , Hitler greeting, ; also called by the Nazi Party , 'German greeting', ), or the ''Sieg Heil'' salute, is a gesture that was used as a greeting in Nazi Germany. T ...
” and similar.
Bokmålsordboka Bokmålsordboka () is a dictionary of the Norwegian written language called Bokmål (lit. "book language"). It is published by the Department of Linguistics and Scandinavian Studies at the University of Oslo in cooperation with the Norwegian Languag ...

heil
/ref> During the 1940–1945 German occupation of Norway, Nasjonal Samling, being the governing and only legal political party, sought to introduce all parts of society to a greeting combining “heil og sæl” and a raised right hand. Whilst the attempt was not successful, the said greeting remained compulsory for party members and police. It has subsequently remained closely associated with nationalism.


See also

* ''
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'' *
Ave Imperator, morituri te salutant ''Avē Imperātor, moritūrī tē salūtant'' ("Hail, Emperor, those who are about to die salute you") is a well-known Latin phrase quoted in Suetonius, '' De vita Caesarum'' ("The Life of the Caesars", or "The Twelve Caesars"). It was reported ...
*
Bellamy salute The Bellamy salute is a palm-out salute created by James B. Upham as the gesture that was to accompany the American Pledge of Allegiance, which had been written by Christian socialist minister, Francis Bellamy. It was also known as the "flag sa ...
*
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*
Roman salute The Roman salute, alternatively called the Fascist salute, is a gesture in which the right arm is fully extended, facing forward, with palm down and fingers touching. In some versions, the arm is raised upward at an angle; in others, it is held ...
*
Zogist salute The Zogist salute (), or the nationalist Albanian salute, is a military salute of Albania since used by civilians in other countries. The salute is a gesture whereby the right hand is placed over the heart, with the palm facing downwards. The sal ...


References

Notes Further reading * Bjorvand, Harald and Lindemand, Fredrik Otto: ''Våre arveord'' : ''Etymologisk ordbok'' 2nd edition. 2001, Oslo. Novus forlag. * Heggstad, Leiv et al.: ''Norrøn ordbok'' 5th edition. 2012, Oslo. Det Norske Samlaget. {{DEFAULTSORT:Heil og sael Greeting words and phrases Norway in World War II