hääl

From Old High German hāli, from Proto-Germanic *hēli- (“slippery, deceitful”), related to *helaną (“to conceal, hide”). Compare Swedish hal.

hääl

1. (Uri) slippery

• Abegg, Emil, (1911) Die Mundart von Urseren (Beiträge zur Schweizerdeutschen Grammatik. IV.) [The Dialect of Urseren], Frauenfeld, Switzerland: Huber & Co., page 22.

Probably from Proto-Finnic *ääni, from Proto-Finno-Ugric *äne. Cognates include Votic ääli, Livonian ēļ; Finnish and Ingrian ääni, Karelian and Livvi iäni, Veps än'; Northern Sami jietna (“sound”) and Hungarian ének (“song”).

Note that, if this etymology were to be correct, an unclear secondary change -n- > -l- would have taken place in the Southern Finnic languages.

• IPA^(key): /ˈhæːl/, [ˈ(h)æːl]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æːl
• Hyphenation: hääl

hääl (genitive hääle, partitive häält)

1. voice

   summutatud hääl ― a muffled voice

   selge hääl ― a clear voice

   tuttav hääl ― a familiar voice

   häält moonutama ― to distort one's voice

   valju häälega laulma ― to sing loudly [~ with a loud voice]

   Ta hääl kõlas rahulikult ja kindlalt. ― His voice sounded calm and confident.

   Hääl värises hirmust. ― His voice trembled with fear.

   Mehe hääles oli kibedust. ― There was bitterness in the man's voice.

   Metsas võib hõisata nii palju, kui hääl võtab.

   In the woods, you can shout as much as your voice will take.

   • 1987, Oskar Luts, Suvi [Summer], Tallinn: Eesti Raamat, page 93:

     Seepeale võtab ta [Kiir] taskust kullatud äärtega lauluraamatu, otsib lauldava salmi, köhatab ja hakkab heleda häälega laulma. Tootsile kuuldub säärane hääl nii ootamatuna, et ta koolivennast pisut eemale nihkub; ühes sellega püüab ta välja rehkendada, kaua jõuaks ta seesugust pirinat kannatada, kui ta seda tõesti oleks sunnitud kannatama.

     Then he [Kiir] takes a songbook with gilded edges from his pocket, looks for the verse to be sung, coughs and begins to sing in a high voice. To Toots, such a voice sounds so unexpected that he shifts a little distance away from his schoolmate; at the same time he tries to calculate how long he would be able to endure such whining if he was really forced to endure it.

   • 1926, A. H. Tammsaare, chapter X, in Tõde ja õigus I [Truth and Justice I] (Tõde ja õigus; I)‎, volume I, Tallinn: Eesti Raamat, published 1974, page 80:

     Minu oma talitab nagu täis perenaine muistegi: niipea kui suu paotab, on sead kannul. Õige perenaise hääl on magusam kui teise mehe rukis.

     My wife is a true mistress of the farm; the pigs come running as soon as she opens her mouth. Her voice has more appeal than another man’s rye.

   1. (music) voice (a melody in a musical composition, performed by a (group of) singer(s) or (a) musical instrument(s))
2. sound, noise

   suupilli hääl ― the sound of a harmonica

   suurlinna hääled ― the noises of the big city

   Mets oli täis loomade hääli. ― The forest was full of animal sounds.

   Kohviveski tegi imelikku häält. ― The coffee grinder made a strange noise.

   Kirikukellade hääl kaikus üle linna.

   The sound of church bells echoed across the city.

   Synonym: heli

3. vote

   Kolm häält oli poolt ja kuus vastu.

   Three votes were for and six against.

• (sound): heli

• “hääl”, in [PSV] Eesti keele põhisõnavara sõnastik [Dictionary of Estonian Basic Vocabulary] (in Estonian) (online version, not updated), Tallinn: Eesti Keele Sihtasutus (Estonian Language Foundation), 2014
• “hääl”, in [EKSS] Eesti keele seletav sõnaraamat [Descriptive Dictionary of the Estonian Language] (in Estonian) (online version), Tallinn: Eesti Keele Sihtasutus (Estonian Language Foundation), 2009
• “hääl”, in [ÕS] Eesti õigekeelsussõnaraamat ÕS 2018 [Estonian Spelling Dictionary] (in Estonian) (online version), Tallinn: Eesti Keele Sihtasutus (Estonian Language Foundation), 2018, →ISBN
• hääl in Sõnaveeb (Eesti Keele Instituut)