Wt/sco/hello

English

Alternative forms

• hallo
• hilloa (obsolete)
• hullo (UK)

Etymology

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

• (UK) IPA^(key): /həˈləʊ̯/, /hɛˈləʊ̯/
• (US) enPR: hĕ-lō', hə-lō', IPA^(key): /hɛˈloʊ̯/, /həˈloʊ̯/

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

Sense	UK	US
(greetin):	Audio (UK) (file)	Audio (US) (file)
(telephone greetin):	Audio (UK) (file)	Audio (US) (file)
(cry for response):	Audio (UK) (file)	Audio (US) (file)
(sarcastic implication):	Audio (UK) (file)	Audio (US) (file)
(expressin puzzlement):	Audio (UK) (file)

• Rhymes: -əʊ

Interjection

hello

1. hello

Usage notes

• 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

• For uissage exemples o this term, see Citations:hello.

Synonyms

• (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

• (greeting): bye, guidbye

Derived terms

• hello yersel, an see hou ye lik it

See also

• Category:Wt/sco/Greetins
• Wt/sco/hello on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Noun

hello (plural Wt/sco/hellos)

1. "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

• greetin

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Scots

Interjection

hello

1. a greetin