hello

English Online Dictionary. What means hello‎? What does hello mean?

English

Alternative forms

• hallo (UK old style)
• hilloa (obsolete)
• hullo (UK)

Etymology

Hello (first attested in 1826), from holla, hollo (attested 1588). This variant of hallo is often credited to Thomas Edison as a coinage for telephone use, but its appearance in print predates the invention of the telephone by several decades.

Ultimately from a variant of Old English ēalā, such as hēlā, which was used colloquially at the time similarly to how hey and (in some dialects) hi are used nowadays. Thus, equivalent to a compound of hey and lo. Used when drawing attention to yourself.

Possibly influenced by Old Saxon halo!, imperative of halōn (“to call, fetch”), used in hailing a ferryman, akin to Old High German hala, hola!, imperative forms of halōn, holōn (“to fetch”). More at hallo.

OED and Merriam-Webster also suggested that it is a variant of holla, a variant of holloo. Further beyond, the origin remains uncertain. OED and Merriam-Webster suggested that it has a connection between hallow (“to shout, to cry out loud”), which came from Old French holloer.

According to Altfranzösisches Wörterbuch, Old French holloer is from Old Saxon halon.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /həˈləʊ/, /hɛˈləʊ/
• (US) enPR: hĕ-lō', hə-lō', IPA^(key): /hɛˈloʊ/, /həˈloʊ/, /ˈhɛloʊ/
• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /həˈləʉ/
• (Canada) IPA^(key): /hɛˈloː/, /həˈloː/, /ˈhɛloː/, /ˈhɛlo/
• Rhymes: -ɛləʊ

• Rhymes: -əʊ

Interjection

hello

1. A greeting (salutation) said when meeting someone or acknowledging someone’s arrival or presence.

2. A greeting used when answering the telephone.
   • 2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)

     Hello. This is Marsha. ― Yes, Marsha.

3. A call for response if it is not clear if anyone is present or listening, or if a telephone conversation may have been disconnected.
4. (colloquial) Used sarcastically to imply that the person addressed has done something the speaker considers to be foolish, or missed something that should have been obvious.

5. (chiefly UK) An expression of puzzlement or discovery.

Usage notes

• The greeting hello is among the most universal and neutral in use. It may be heard in nearly all social situations and nearly all walks of life and is unlikely to offend.

• In the derived senses, the word-final stress may be emphasized to focus attention, but word-initial stress is also heard in certain contexts, such as some uses of hello there, and even in isolation.

Quotations

• For quotations using this term, see Citations:hello.

Synonyms

• (greeting): See Thesaurus:hello
  • (Australia, informal) g'day, hey, hi,
  • (UK, informal) hallo, hi, hiya, ey up
  • (US, informal) hallo, hey, hi, howdy
  • (Ireland, informal) how's it going, hey, hi
  • (South Africa, informal) howzit
  • (slang) wassup, what's up, yo, sup, what's good
• (expression of puzzlement): See Thesaurus:wow

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of “greeting”): bye, goodbye

Derived terms

Descendants

• → Amharic: ሀሎ (halo)
• → Chinese: 哈嘍／哈喽 (hālou), 哈囉／哈啰 (hāluó), 哈囉／哈啰 (hāluó), 哈佬 (hālǎo)
• → Japanese: ハロー (harō)
• → Malay: helo
• → Scottish Gaelic: halò

Translations

See also

• Category:English greetings
• hello on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Noun

hello (plural hellos or helloes)

1. "Hello!" or an equivalent greeting.

Synonyms

• greeting

Derived terms

Verb

hello (third-person singular simple present hellos or helloes, present participle helloing, simple past and past participle helloed)

1. (transitive) To greet with "hello".

Anagrams

• Holle

French

Etymology

From English hello.

Pronunciation

Interjection

hello

1. (anglicism) hello, hi

Further reading

• “hello”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Fula

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.).

Noun

hello ngo (plural hellooji ɗi)

1. a page
2. one side of a wall, a wall
3. a slap in the face

References

• Oumar Bah, Dictionnaire Pular-Français, Avec un index français-pular, Webonary.org, SIL International, 2014.