Alternative forms
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Etymology
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Hello (first attestit in 1833), frae holla, hollo (attestit 1588). This variant o hallo is eften creditit tae Thomas Edison as a coinage for telephone uise, but its appearance in print predates the invention o the telephone bi several decades.
Possibly frae the Old High German an Old Saxon verb halon, holon (“tae bring something, tae gather”), akin tae Inglis hale or hail.
Pronunciation
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Sense
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UK
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US
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(greetin):
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(telephone greetin):
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(cry for response):
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(sarcastic implication):
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(expressin puzzlement):
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Interjection
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hello
- hello
Usage notes
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- The greetin hello is amang the maist generic an neutral in uise. It mey be heard in nearly aw social situations an in nearly aw walks o life, an is unlikly tae cause offense.
Quotations
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Synonyms
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- (greeting):
- (AU, informal) g'day, hey, hi, howdy
- (UK, informal) hallo, hey, hi, hiya, ey up
- (US, informal) hallo, hey, hi, howdy
- (IE, informal) hou's it gangin, hey, hi
- (SA, informal) howzit
- (slang) wassup, whit's up, yo, sup
- See an aa Wikisaurus:hello
Antonyms
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Derived terms
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See also
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hello (plural Wt/sco/hellos)
- "Hello!" or an equivalent greetin.
- 2007 April 29, Stephanie Rosenbloom, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”, New York Times:
- In many new buildings, though, neighbors are venturing beyond tight-lipped hellos at the mailbox.
Synonyms
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Interjection
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hello
- a greetin