hello

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

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.

• (UK) IPA^(key): /həˈləʊ/, /hɛˈləʊ/
• (US) enPR: hĕ-lō', hə-lō', IPA^(key): /hɛˈloʊ/, /həˈloʊ/, /ˈhɛloʊ/

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

• Audio (AUS)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -əʊ

hello

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

   Hello, everyone.

2. A greeting used when answering the telephone.

   Hello? How may I help you?

   • 2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)

     Hello. This is Marsha. ― Yes, Marsha.

     Audio (US)

     (file)

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.

   Hello? Is anyone there?

   • 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 7, in Mr. Pratt's Patients:

     I made a speaking trumpet of my hands and commenced to whoop “Ahoy!” and “Hello!” at the top of my lungs. […] The Colonel woke up, and, after asking what in brimstone was the matter, opened his mouth and roared “Hi!” and “Hello!” like the bull of Bashan.

4. (colloquial) Used sarcastically to imply that the person addressed or referred to has done something the speaker or writer considers to be foolish.

   You just tried to start your car with your cell phone. Hello?

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

   Hello! What’s going on here?

• 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.

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

• (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

• (greeting): bye, goodbye

• hello girl
• hello there
• Hello World
• hello yourself, and see how you like it

• Category:Greetings
• hello on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

hello (plural hellos or helloes)

1. "Hello!" or an equivalent greeting.
   • 2007 April 29, Stephanie Rosenbloom, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”, in New York Times‎:

     In many new buildings, though, neighbors are venturing beyond tight-lipped hellos at the mailbox.

• greeting

• say hello to my little friend

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

1. (transitive) To greet with "hello".
   • 1891, Records and Briefs in Cases Decided by the Supreme Court of Minnesota, page 227:

     She is there guarding and looking after the candy and the children generally, and she helloes and renders an exclamation that Maidie is crossing the street.

   • 1927, Ohio State Engineer, page 18:

     He helloes to my daughter: […]

   • 2012, Mark Dolan, Do You Mind if I Put My Hand on it?: Journeys into the Worlds of the Weird, HarperCollinsPublishers, →ISBN:

     ‘Hello Minka! Great to meet you!’ Minka seems nonplussed at what I thought was an uncontroversial opening remark. There’s an awkward pause. She then helloes me back. But that’s all I get.

   • 2013, Ivan Doig, English Creek, page 139:

     I had to traipse around somewhat, helloing people and being helloed, before I spotted my mother and my father, sharing shade and a spread blanket with Pete and Marie Reese and Toussaint Rennie near the back of the park.

• Holle

English hello

hello

1. (anglicism) hello, hi

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

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

hello ngo (plural hellooji ɗi)

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

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