hello

hɛˈloʊ

2 definitions

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#1·5h ago

"Hello!" or an equivalent greeting.

They gave each other a quick hello when they met, and went back on their merry ways.

Origin: 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 , imperative of halōn, used in hailing a ferryman, akin to , hola!, imperati. Origin information sourced from Wiktionary contributors (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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#2·5h ago

(transitive) To greet with "hello".

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.

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