English
Hail Mary
Hail Mary comes from Middle English Heil Marie.
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500Heil Marie
- Englishearliest quotation 1872Hail Mary
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500Heil Marie
- Englishearliest quotation 1872Hail Mary
Earliest quotation: 1872, F. A., Philadelphia: Peter F. Cunningham: “What did the priest, and all of you, keep…”
The story
The extended figurative sense alludes to the notion of saying a prayer that the action will succeed.
Every English word from Middle English Heil Marie
Today it means
noun A prayer, of established or conventional wording, calling for the intercession of the Virgin Mary.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle English Heil Marie / Hail Mary