how goes it

English dictionary entry

Meanings

phrase
  1. An informal greeting roughly equivalent to how are you.

Pronunciation

en-au-how goes it.ogg

Word forms

how goes it

Etymology

The phrase is a regular Early Modern English equivalent of how's it going (when neither progressive tenses nor do-support were obligatory). As such it could have survived through regional dialects. Nevertheless modern usage is likely a calque of German wie geht es, perhaps additionally also Dutch hoe gaat het, Danish hvordan går det, etc.

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