hello

A1 Topic:People & Society

Also spelled Hillo, Hul-lo, and hallo

US /hɛˈloʊ/ UK /həˈləʊ/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like halloa /ɛ/ vs /æ/ Sounds like hallow /ɛ/ vs /æ/

Freq #195

Meanings

1

intj
A word you say to greet someone.

Hello, everyone — thanks for coming today.
2

intj
A word used when answering the telephone.

Hello? How may I help you?
3

noun
A greeting.

Every morning they exchanged polite hellos.
4

intj
A word used to get attention or check if anyone is there.

Hello? Is anyone there?

Thesaurus

Synonyms

3 noun · a greeting. hi greeting

More alohaalrightayoayubowancheeriociaog'daygreetingshalloheavenohey heyday

Opposites

bye goodbye

Word family

Forms halloedhellos

Derived forms hellojiyello

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

cheery hello
a bright and friendly spoken greeting

Adjective + noun

Simplified etymology

Hello arose in the early 19th century and, like hallo, is a variant of the earlier forms hollo and halloo. These forms originated as cries used to urge on hunting dogs and to keep in touch with other people in the field.

Etymology

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 ferr…

Topics

People & Society

External links

# hello

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A1
**Part of speech:** intj, noun
**IPA (US):** /hɛˈloʊ/
**IPA (UK):** /həˈləʊ/
**Frequency rank:** 195

## Meanings
1. A word you say to greet someone.
2. A word used when answering the telephone.
3. A greeting.
4. A word used to get attention or check if anyone is there.

## Examples
- Hello, everyone — thanks for coming today.
- Hello? How may I help you?
- Every morning they exchanged polite hellos.
- Hello? Is anyone there?

## Synonyms
- aloha
- alright
- ayo
- ayubowan
- cheerio
- ciao
- g'day
- greetings
- hallo
- heaveno
- hey
- heyday

## Antonyms
- bye
- goodbye

## Derived Forms
- helloji
- yello

## Etymology
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 ferr…

## AI Etymology
Hello: 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! In current use, the main senses are “A word you say to greet someone” and “A word used when answering the telephone”.

## Topics
- People & Society

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