hello
Meanings
- "They said a loud hello and shook hands"
Noun
- an expression of greeting
- "every morning they exchanged polite hellos"
- "Hello!" or an equivalent greeting.
Intj
- A greeting (salutation) said when meeting someone or acknowledging someone’s arrival or presence.
- A greeting used when answering the telephone.
- A call for response if it is not clear if anyone is present or listening, or if a telephone conversation may have been disconnected.
- 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.
- An expression of puzzlement or discovery.
Verb
- To greet with "hello".
Origin / 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, which, according to Altfranzösisches Wörterbuch, is from Old Saxon halōn.
Synonyms
aloha, alright, alright me babber, alright me lover, ay up me duck, ayo, ayubowan, cheerio, ciao, ey up, g'day, good day, good evening, good morning, good morrow, greeting, greetings, hallo, heaveno, hello, hello there, hey, hey hey, heyday, heyo, hi, hi there, hiya, how, how are you, how's it going, how-do-you-do, howdy, howzit, hullo, namaste, privet, salaam, salaam alaikum, salutations, shalom, shalom aleichem, sup, top of the morning, wagwan, wassup, well met, what's doing, what's going on, what's good, what's new, what's up, wotcher, wow, yello, yo, you alright
Scrabble Score: 8
hello is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL wordhello is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
hello is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary