Hit Points  

ZAM Network Wikibase™ Dictionary

Hit Points (a.k.a. Health Pool, Health Points, w/e) are a way for the game to measure the amount of damage a player or monster can take before succumbing to his wounds. This is not truly a measure of how you deal with getting hit with a weapon or fireball, but a total measure off how the body deals with such things. In the real world, if you are shot with a gun, you fall down. However, we have all heard of the man that, even with multiple gunshot wounds, did not go down and just kept moving. Maybe none of the shots hit anything vital, or maybe he was just meaner than you or I, or maybe he was wearing body armor that kept the bullets from penetrating the main body. We could just say that he had more hit points.