Hello Meaning

/hɛˈloʊ/
A1

Definition, CEFR level A1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.

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intjA greeting (salutation) said when meeting someone or acknowledging someone’s arrival or presence.

intjA greeting used when answering the telephone.

Hello? Are you still here?
Hello, I have a reservation, my name is Kaori Yoshikawa. Here is the confirmation card.
Please say hello to your wife for me.
CEFR Practice Quiz
When you meet someone, you typically say ____ to greet them.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She waved her hand and said a cheerful '____' as she walked into the room to join the party.

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.

"I made a speaking trumpet of my hands and commenced to whoop “Ahoy!” and “Hello!” at the top of my lungs. […] The Colonel woke up, and, after asking what in brimstone was the matter, opened his mouth and roared “Hi!” and “Hello!” like the bull of Bashan." — 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter VII, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:
"Uh, hello? We're using a CANNON to get to the moon? Isn't that, like, dangerous?" — 2004, Intelligent Systems, translated by Nintendo of America, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Nintendo, GameCube, level/area: Rogueport:
"In many new buildings, though, neighbors are venturing beyond tight-lipped hellos at the mailbox." — 2007 April 29, Stephanie Rosenbloom, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”, in New York Times:
"She is there guarding and looking after the candy and the children generally, and she helloes and renders an exclamation that Maidie is crossing the street." — 1891, Records and Briefs in Cases Decided by the Supreme Court of Minnesota, page 227:
"He helloes to my daughter:[…]" — 1927, Ohio State Engineer, page 18:

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CEFR Practice Quiz
When you meet someone, you typically say ____ to greet them.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She waved her hand and said a cheerful '____' as she walked into the room to join the party.

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