Where Does the Word Hello Come From?

[Johnboy60]

Hello! There's a good chance you've used this word at least once today. You probably said it to your neighbor in the elevator, to the barista before ordering, or maybe to your coworkers when you came into work. There's a reason why "hello" is the first word you learn when studying a new language: With it, you can introduce yourself, get someone's attention, and signal that you're friendly.

Despite the word's popularity, though, you probably don't know where "hello" actually comes from. Has it always been a greeting? Was another word used in its place before? Who even came up with it—and why?

Where Does the Word Hello Come From?

 

[Jonaitis]

Hello! There's a good chance you've used this word at least once today. You probably said it to your neighbor in the elevator, to the barista before ordering, or maybe to your coworkers when you came into work. There's a reason why "hello" is the first word you learn when studying a new language: With it, you can introduce yourself, get someone's attention, and signal that you're friendly.

Despite the word's popularity, though, you probably don't know where "hello" actually comes from. Has it always been a greeting? Was another word used in its place before? Who even came up with it—and why?

Where Does the Word Hello Come From?

I bet you didn't know that "goodbye" originates from "godbwye," a contraction of "God be with ye."

 

[Sabertooth]

1. Howdy < "How do you do?"
2. "Good day" is used for both a greeting and a farewell, like shalom & aloha.
3. "Good morning" & "good evening" are/were both used in similar fashion.
4. "Good night" is more of a farewell.

 

[Occams Barber]

Hello! There's a good chance you've used this word at least once today. You probably said it to your neighbor in the elevator, to the barista before ordering, or maybe to your coworkers when you came into work. There's a reason why "hello" is the first word you learn when studying a new language: With it, you can introduce yourself, get someone's attention, and signal that you're friendly.

Despite the word's popularity, though, you probably don't know where "hello" actually comes from. Has it always been a greeting? Was another word used in its place before? Who even came up with it—and why?

Where Does the Word Hello Come From?

Interesting - but the linked article is only half the story. Bell didn't invent 'hello'. He popularised it. 'Hello' actually dates back to at least the 14th century and came into Middle English from Old High German.

​

This is the entry from the Online Etymological Dictionary:

hello (interj.)
greeting between persons meeting, 1848, early references are to the U.S. western frontier (where hello, the house was said to be the usual greeting upon approaching a habitation).

It is an alteration of hallo, itself an alteration of holla, hollo, a shout to attract attention, which seems to go back at least to late 14c. (compare Middle English verb halouen "to shout in the chase," hallouing). OED cites Old High German hala, hola, emphatic imperative of halon, holon "to fetch," "used especially in hailing a ferryman." Fowler in the 1920s listed halloo, hallo, halloa, halloo, hello, hillo, hilloa, holla, holler, hollo, holloa, hollow, hullo, and writes, "The multiplicity of forms is bewildering ...."

Its rise to popularity as a greeting (1880s) coincides with the spread of the telephone, where it won out as the word said in answering, over Alexander Graham Bell's suggestion, ahoy. Central telephone exchange operators were known as hello-girls (1889).

Hello, formerly an Americanism, is now nearly as common as hullo in Britain (Say who you are; do not just say 'hello' is the warning given in our telephone directories) and the Englishman cannot be expected to give up the right to say hello if he likes it better than his native hullo. [H.W. Fowler, "A Dictionary of Modern English Usage," 1926]​

OB

 

[Sabertooth]

Bell didn't invent 'hello'. He popularised it.

The article says that it was popularized by Edison (as a greeting). Bell preferred "ahoy."

It did give its earlier use (as an exclamation, rather than a greeting). It is related to the Spanish "hola" and the French "allo," too.

 

[Occams Barber]

The article says that it was popularized by Edison (as a greeting). Bell preferred "ahoy."

It did give its earlier use (as an exclamation, rather than a greeting). It is related to the Spanish "hola" and the French "allo," too.

I stand corrected . I mixed Bell with Edison.

The similarity to Spanish/French equivalents suggest that it may have had its origin in Latin and been adopted into Germanic. Alternatively it may have come from Proto Indo European - the mother language common to Germanic, Latin, Celtic, Greek, Slavic and other European and north-Indian languages.
OB

 

[joshua 1 9]

Despite the word's popularity, though, you probably don't know where "hello" actually comes from. Has it always been a greeting? Was another word used in its place before? Who even came up with it—and why?

Hello comes from the Ancient Hebrew letter: HEY. This is represented by the letter E. In the beginning the E represented the head and both hands in the air trying to get someone's attention. Letters and their meaning evolve over time. So today the letter E has been rotated and it is used as a greeting. In the beginning this letter represents I am here, or here I am. This is a person wanting to reveal himself or let you know they are there. Or God wanting to reveal Himself to give us understanding or revolution knowledge. Worship is like this. God says: Hay, I am here and I want to reveal my self to you. We raise our hands in the air and we say YES, Praise God. Show us and teach us more about Yourself. Give us more revelation understanding. Perhaps some people would suggest that the raised hands represents that we do not have a weapon, we come in peace and we mean you no harm. Today hello is a friendly greeting to show that our intention is good and we mean the person no harm.

 

[Quid est Veritas?]

I stand corrected . I mixed Bell with Edison.

The similarity to Spanish/French equivalents suggest that it may have had its origin in Latin and been adopted into Germanic. Alternatively it may have come from Proto Indo European - the mother language common to Germanic, Latin, Celtic, Greek, Slavic and other European and north-Indian languages.
OB

An ultimate Latin origin makes most sense, as illo essentially translates as "you there". As an exclamation, that fits quite well, and Germanic languages could easily adopt it from the Legions and auxiliaries. As far as I know, there aren't cognatic hailing words of hello outside European languages that you would expect of an Proto Indo-European origin.

 

[Occams Barber]

An ultimate Latin origin makes most sense, as illo essentially translates as "you there". As an exclamation, that fits quite well, and Germanic languages could easily adopt it from the Legions and auxiliaries. As far as I know, there aren't cognatic hailing words of hello outside European languages that you would expect of an Proto Indo-European origin.

'illo' sounds like a reasonable phonetic fit.

Out of curiosity I ran 'hello' through an English to Indo European translator.

It came out as alā! which sounds suspiciously close to 'hello'. Still, Indo European reconstructions aren't always reliable and coincidence is possible. It might also be one of those 'natural', involuntary sounds that come out sounding similar in many languages (like baby-burbling mama, papa, dada).

OB

 

[Quid est Veritas?]

'illo' sounds like a reasonable phonetic fit.

Out of curiosity I ran 'hello' through an English to Indo European translator.

It came out as alā! which sounds suspiciously close to 'hello'. Still, Indo European reconstructions aren't always reliable and coincidence is possible. It might also be one of those 'natural', involuntary sounds that come out sounding similar in many languages (like baby-burbling mama, papa, dada).

OB

The standard ancient Greek battle cry was alala. They also did a ululation in grief similar to this. I think it more natural as an easy way of making loud sounds that carry, but connecting this to a greeting or a hailing of someone, is not so clear cut.

 

[Sabertooth]

It might also be one of those 'natural', involuntary sounds that come out sounding similar in many languages (like baby-burbling mama, papa, dada).

...or yoo-hoo?

 

[Joy]

MOD HAT ON

This Thread has Moved
From News & Current Events
To The Kitchen Sink

MOD HAT OFF​

 

[Aryeh Jay]

Actually there were two Cro-Magnon’s, Grock and Humph. Humph always had an issue, he would borrow things from Grock and never return them. “Grock, could I borrow your spear?” “OK”. “Grock, could I borrow your fish net?” “OK”. After a while, Grock got tired of always having to make new tools that Humph borrowed and kept without returning, so whenever Humph approached Grock to borrow something, before Humph could even ask, Grock would yell out “Hell no”. After time, the “n” was dropped.

 

[Occams Barber]

whenever Humph approached Grock to borrow something, before Humph could even ask, Grock would yell out “Hell no”. After time, the “n” was dropped.

A well known speech phenomenon known as 'elision'.

I was so impressed I sent your 'hello' etymology off to the Oxford Etymological Dictionary. They said they'd get back to me.

OB

 

[Sabertooth]

I was so impressed I sent your 'hello' etymology off to the Oxford Etymological Dictionary. They said they'd get back to me.

Did they accept it?
Hell'o.

 

[Occams Barber]

Did they accept it?
Hell'o.

Not sure

How would you interpret "Don't call us we'll call you" ??
OB

 

[Sabertooth]

I was using "hell'o" in the sense that @Aryeh Jay had proposed.

 

[Occams Barber]

I was using "hell'o" in the sense that @Aryeh Jay had proposed. [/QUOTE
I was using

"Don't call us we'll call you"

in the same way.

 

[jayem]

OK. Where did "Howdy" come from?

And Minnie Pearl is not an acceptable answer.

 

[Quid est Veritas?]

OK. Where did "Howdy" come from?

And Minnie Pearl is not an acceptable answer.

Contraction of the Scotch 'how do ye?', so essentially `how are you?`.