Heil og sæl
Heil og sæl (English: lit. "healthy and happy") is a common greeting in Iceland. 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"). 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". 20th-century use. According to "Store norske leksikon", 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. According to "Bokmålsordboka", the adoption was inspired by Germany's “Heil Hitler” and similar. 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. References. Notes Further reading