HELLO

'Hello' is a salutation or greeting in the English language and is synonymous with other greetings such as '' or ''. ''Hello'' was recorded in dictionaries in 1883.^[1]

Contents

First use

Etymology

Telephone

Hullo

Hallo

External links

References

First use

Many stories date the first use of ''hello'' (with that spelling) to around the time of the invention of the telephone in 1876.
It was however used in print in ''Roughing It'' by Mark Twain in 1872 (written between 1870 and 1871),^[2] so its first use must have predated the telephone:
"A miner came out and said: 'Hello!'"
Earlier uses can be found back to 1849.^[3]
It was listed in dictionaries by 1883.^[1]
The word was extensively used in literature by the 1860s.^[5] Two early uses of ''hello'' can be found as far back as 1826.^[5]

★ ''Report on the trade in foreign corn, and on the agriculture of the north of Europe.'' by William Jacob, 1826. page 213
"On this occasion she switched it on to a patient who was awake and who merely said 'Hello Sister, what's the matter with you...'"

★ ''The Every-day Book: Or Everlasting Calendar of Popular Amusements, Sports, Pastime, Ceremonies,...''By William Hone, 1826 Page 1370
"Then hello boys! Hello boys! Shout and huzz....

Etymology

There are many different theories to the origins of the word. It may be a contraction of archaic English "''whole be thou''".^[7] Another source may be the phrase "''Hail, Thou''", as in the ''Bible''; ''Luke'' 1:28 and ''Matthew'' 27:14.

Telephone

The word ''hello'' is also credited to Thomas Edison specifically as a way to greet someone when answering the telephone; according to one source due to expressing his surprise with a misheard ''Hullo''.^[8] Alexander Graham Bell initially used ''Ahoy'' (as used on ships) as a telephone greeting.^[9] However, in 1877, Edison wrote to T.B.A. David, the president of the Central District and Printing Telegraph Company of Pittsburg:
"Friend David, I do not think we shall need a call bell as Hello! can be heard 10 to 20 feet away.
What you think? Edison - P.S. first cost of sender & receiver to manufacture is only $7.00."
By 1889 central telephone exchange operators were known as 'hello-girls' due to the association between the greeting and the telephone.¹
Unusually, the term "hello" is almost exclusively used when answering a phone call as of 2007. The similar terms "hi" or "hey" are seldom used, unless the recipient has Caller ID and knows it is their close friend calling.

Hullo

''Hello'' may also be derived from ''Hullo''. ''Hullo'' was in use before ''hello'' and was used as a greeting and also an expression of surprise. Charles Dickens uses it in Chapter 8 of ''Oliver Twist'' in 1838 when Oliver meets the Artful Dodger:
"Upon this, the boy crossed over; and walking close up to Oliver, said 'Hullo, my covey! What's the row?'"
It was in use in both senses by the time ''Tom Brown's Schooldays'' was published in 1857 (although the book was set in the 1830s so it may have been in use by then):

★ "'Hullo though,' says East, pulling up, and taking another look at Tom; 'this'll never do...'"

★ "Hullo, Brown! where do you come from?"
Though much less common than it used to be, the word ''hullo'' is still in use, mainly in British English.

Hallo

''Hello'' is alternatively thought to come from the word ''hallo'' (1840) via ''hollo'' (also ''holla'', ''holloa'', ''halloo'', ''halloa'').^[10] The definition of ''hollo'' is to shout or an exclamation originally shouted in a hunt when the quarry was spotted:¹⁰
"If I fly, Marcius,/Halloo me like a hare." - ''Coriolanus'' (I.viii.7), William Shakespeare
Webster's dictionary from 1913 traces the etymology of ''holloa'' to the Old English ''halow'' and suggests: "Perhaps from ah + lo; compare Anglo Saxon ealā".
According to the ''American Heritage Dictionary'', ''hallo'' is a modification of the obsolete ''holla'' (''stop!''), perhaps from Old French ''hola'' (''ho'', ho! + ''la'', there, from Latin ''illac'', that way).^[11]

External links

★ Hello in more than 800 languages

References

1.
Online Etymology Dictionary
2. Roughing It
3.
New York in Slices, , George G, Foster, W. F. Burgess, 1849,
4.
Online Etymology Dictionary
5. Google books
6. Google books
7. Mother Tongue: English & How It Got That Way, Bryson, Bill, , , , ,
8. The First “Hello!”: Thomas Edison, the Phonograph and the Telephone – Part 2 Allen Koenigsberg
9. All Things Considered Allen Koenigsberg
10. Hello
11. Hello

:
★ OED online entry for ''hollo'' (Subscription)
:
★ Merriam-Webster Dictionary: hullo