Hail, v. t.
Etymology: [OE. hailen, heilen, Icel. heil hale, sound, used in greeting. See Hale sound.]
1. To call loudly to, or after; to accost; to salute; to address.
2. To name; to designate; to call. And such a son as all men hailed me happy. Milton.
7 other Webster entries under this spelling
Hail, 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. Thunder mixed with hail, Hail mixed with fire, must rend the Egyptian sky. Milton.
Hail, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Halled; p. pr. & vb. n. Halting.]
To pour down particles of ice, or frozen vapors.
Hail, v. t.
To pour forcibly down, as hail. Shak.
Hail, a.
Healthy. See Hale (the preferable spelling).
Hail, v. i.
1. To declare, by hailing, the port from which a vessel sails or where she is registered; hence, to sail; to come; -- used with from; as, the steamer hails from New York.
2. To report as one's home or the place from whence one comes; to come; -- with from. [Colloq.] G. G. Halpine.
Hail, interj.
An exclamation of respectful or reverent salutation, or, occasionally, of familiar greeting. "Hail, brave friend." Shak. All hail. See in the Vocabulary. -- Hail Mary, a form of prayer made use of in the Roman Catholic Church in invocation of the Virgin. See Ave Maria.
Hail, n.
A wish of health; a salutation; a loud call. "Their puissant hail." M. Arnold. The angel hail bestowed. Milton.
Shades of meaning
Fernald has no entry of its own for hail; he lists it under address.
Where he writes about it:
To accost is to speak first, to friend or stranger, generally with a view to opening conversation; greet is not so distinctly limited, since one may return another's greeting; greet and hail may imply but a passing word; greeting may be altogether silent; to hail is to greet in a loud-voiced and commonly hearty and joyous way, as appears in the expression "hail fellow, well met." To salute is to greet with special token of respect, as a soldier his commander. — from address