hello
English dictionary entry
Meanings
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.
noun
- "Hello!" or an equivalent greeting.
verb
- To greet with "hello".
Pronunciation
/hɛˈloʊ/
/həˈloʊ/
/ˈhɛloʊ/
hĕ-lō'
hə-lō'
/həˈləʊ/
/hɛˈləʊ/
/hæˈlaʊ/
En-uk-hello.ogg
/həˈləʉ/
En-au-hello.ogg
/hɛˈloː/
/həˈloː/
/ˈhɛloː/
/ˈhɛlo/
/həˈlo(w)/
en-uk-hello-1.ogg
en-us-hello.ogg
en-uk-hello-2.ogg
en-us-hello-2.ogg
en-uk-hello-3.ogg
en-us-hello-3.ogg
en-uk-hello-4.ogg
en-us-hello-4.ogg
en-uk-hello-5.ogg
Word forms
hello
hallo
hilloa
hullo
hellos
helloes
helloing
helloed
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.
Translations
Abaza: сальам
Abkhaz: бзиа збаша
Abkhaz: мыш бзи
Abkhaz: бзиара убааит
Abkhaz: бзиара ббааит
Abkhaz: бзиара жәбааит
Afrikaans: hallo
Afrikaans: goeiedag
Ahom: 𑜈𑜩𑜨 𑜀𑜪𑜨
Ainu: イランカラㇷ゚テ
Akan: maakye
Akan: maaha
Akan: maadwo
Albanian: tungjatjeta
Albanian: tung
Albanian: ç'kemi
Aleut: aang
Aleut: draas
Southern Altai: эзен
Southern Altai: селем
Alutiiq: cama’i
Ambonese Malay: wai
Amharic: ሰላም
Jicarilla: dá nzhǫ́
Western Apache: dagotʼee
Western Apache: daʼanzho
Western Apache: yaʼateh
Arabic: السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ
Arabic: سَلَام
Arabic: مَرْحَبًا
Arabic: أَهْلًا
Arabic: اهلاً
Arabic: مَرحَبا
Arabic: هلا
Arabic: السلام عليكم
Arabic: أهلًا
Iraqi Arabic: هلو
Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܫܠܵܡܵܐ
Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܫܠܵܡܵܐ ܥܲܠܘܼܟ݂
Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܫܠܵܡܵܐ ܥܲܠܵܟ݂ܝ
Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܫܠܵܡܵܐ ܥܲܠܵܘܟ݂ܘܿܢ
Archi: салам алейкум
Archi: варчӏами
Armenian: բարև
Armenian: բարև ձեզ
Armenian: ողջույն
Assamese: নমস্কাৰ
Assamese: আচ্চেলামো আলাইকোম
Assamese: হেল’
Asturian: hola
Azerbaijani: salam
Azerbaijani: səlam
Azerbaijani: hər vaxtınız xeyir olsun
Azerbaijani: hər vaxtınız xeyir
Azerbaijani: günaydın
Azerbaijani: xoş gördük
Azerbaijani: əssəlamü əleyküm
Bambara: i ni ce
Bashkir: сәләм
Basque: kaixo
Belarusian: віта́ю
Belarusian: здаро́ў
Belarusian: прыве́т
Belarusian: до́бры дзень
Bengali: আসসালামু আলাইকুম
Bengali: সালাম
Bengali: নমস্কার
Bengali: হ্যালো
Bhojpuri: प्रणाम
Bouyei: mengz ndil
Bulgarian: здра́сти
Bulgarian: здраве́й
Bulgarian: здраве́йте
Burmese: မင်္ဂလာပါ
Burmese: ဟဲလို
Carpathian Rusyn: наздар
Catalan: hola
Cayuga: sgę́꞉nǫʼ
Central Atlas Tamazight: ⴰⵣⵓⵍ
Chamorro: håfa adai
Chechen: маршалла ду хьоьга
Chechen: маршалла ду шуьга
Chechen: ассаламу ӏалайкум
Cherokee: ᎣᏏᏲ
Chichewa: moni
Chickasaw: chokma
This entry uses open data from
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