# Etymology of "hello"



## sotos

I did a beginner's  search through WR.com and I found only hundreds of salutations.  If there is no other thread on that, does anybody know something about the origins of Hello, other than what I find in Etymoline? The motivation behind my question is the similarity with the Homeric greeting "Oule" (ούλε) (Od. 24, 402, http://www.theoi.com/Text/HomerOdyssey24.html ). This is the imperative of the  v. oulo (I'm in good health) http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper...habetic+letter=*o:entry+group=80:entry=ou)/lw. 
Thanks.


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## Scholiast

Hello(!) sotos

Try this:

http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=hello&searchmode=none

In general, it would be most unusual for such a common, old and colloquial English word or greeting to have any direct connexion - as your question seems somewhat optimistically to suggest you may be thinking - with a classical Greek ancestor.

The Homeric word οὔλειν is much more likely to be related to Latin _valere_, and if LSJ's putative correlation with οὗλος/ὅλος is right, this looks like an IE relative of English "whole" and "hale", German _heil_.


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## Outsider

Here's a previous thread where this was addressed.

I remember similar threads about French _allô_ and Spanish _hola _(and _ole_), though I wasn't able to trace them all back. It's tempting to think these words might be somehow related, though the order of the vowels doesn't match. All seem to have obscure origins. It seems to me that such words could easily have started as calling phrases. For example, Portuguese _olá_ (and Spanish _hola_, etc.) < _ó lá_, "hey there". But I've never found any evidence to corroborate this theory.


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## terredepomme

From what I've heard it was originally an exclamation(hullo!) and the use of it as a greeting is in fact quite modern, which arised along with the invention of telephone. That's why the romance words "allô" "alo" etc are only used for phone conversations.


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## miguel89

terredepomme said:


> From what I've heard it was originally an exclamation(hullo!) and the use of it as a greeting is in fact quite modern, which arised along with the invention of telephone. That's why the romance words "allô" "alo" etc are only used for phone conversations.


Also older attestations of "hola" in Spanish work as interjections.
From Cervantes:


> Discreto sois, mancebo, pero haced cuenta que yo soy el aire y que os soplo en popa y os encamino a la cárcel. ¡Asilde, *hola*, y llevalde, que yo haré que duerma allí sin aire esta noche!





> Esta noche tú, *¡hola!*, está alerta,


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## terredepomme

> Also older attestations of "hola" in Spanish work as interjections.



¿Sería relacionado con la palabra francesa "hélas"?


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## Ben Jamin

In Polish 'hola' means 'hey'. I do not know the etymology, but it may be just a 'natural' exclamation sound, that occurs in many languages.


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## mataripis

For me it sounds as "Ellos" (They) and "Olos" (All) and that word may originate from "wholeness" of a person, Health of person.


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## Scholiast

Good evening



> For me it sounds as "Ellos" (They) and "Olos" (All) and that word may originate from "wholeness" of a person, Health of person.


(mataripis #8)

With all respect, there is no connexion whatever.

Spanish (_el_)_los_ comes directly from the Latin demonstrative pronoun _ille_, specifically from its Accusative Masculine Plural form, _illos_. "Olos" (Greek ὅλος) is indeed in IE a cousin of English "whole", and may plausibly be related to Germanic/A-S/modern English "all" as well.


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## sotos

Scholiast said:


> ...it would be most unusual for such a common,  old and colloquial English word or greeting to have any direct  connexion ... with a classical Greek ancestor. The Homeric word οὔλειν  is much more likely to be related to Latin _valere_, and if LSJ's  putative correlation with οὗλος/ὅλος is right, this looks like an IE  relative of English "whole" and "hale", German _heil_.


So,  you are saying that the German "heil" is unrelated to Eng. hello, but  you agree that "heil" means "healthy" (whole) exactly as the homeric  "Oule". If you are correct, English must be one of the european  languages that the common_ salutation_ is nor related to the sense of health.


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## aruniyan

can there be a connection with "Query", "Question",

as often, initiating with a request or question.

There is an Indian word "KEl" means "To ask" or "To Quest"


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## Ben Jamin

aruniyan said:


> can there be a connection with "Query", "Question",
> 
> as often, initiating with a request or question.
> 
> There is an Indian word "KEl" means "To ask" or "To Quest"


This is actually a theme for another Thread.

There is a good Online Etymology Dictionary that you can always consult for such questions. You find it here:http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=query&searchmode=none
It gives the following explanation: query: _quaere_, from L. _quaere_ "ask," imperative of _quaerere_ "to seek, gain, ask," probably ultimately from PIE _*kwo-.
_So you can see that there is an obvious link to 'question': rom Anglo-Fr. _questiun_, O.Fr. _question_ "legal inquest," from Latin _quæstionem_ (nom. _quæstio_) "a seeking, inquiry.
Inquire and inquiry also come from the same family.
If by "Indian" word you mean a word in Hindi, or any related Indoeuropean language there is a probability that 'kei' is related. If this is a Tamil word, then it might be a loan from one of the Indoeuropean languages of India. If this is a native word, than it is even more interesting, as it sounds similar both to the Japanese question particle -ka and to the Finnish -ko.


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## aruniyan

I am thinking of words like  "Help", "Hear" etc... connected  with "Hello".

and my question does the words "Help or Hear" has any relation with Latin "Quer.."?




Forget about the Tamil connection with "Hello", its too far to have direct connection.
But FYI, KEL is south Indian(Dravidian) and available in all its Languages, so KEl is definitely not a loan word, there are n number of similar words
KEl(ask), KElvi(Question),KElu,KEtpathu(Hear, Heed) etc...


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## Ben Jamin

aruniyan said:


> I am thinking of words like  "Help", "Hear" etc... connected  with "Hello".
> 
> and my question does the words "Help or Hear" has any relation with Latin "Quer.."?



Why do you think there should be any?


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## Lugubert

Ben Jamin said:


> In Polish 'hola' means 'hey'. I do not know the etymology, but it may be just a 'natural' exclamation sound, that occurs in many languages.


Gets my vote.

Compare also


			
				Wikipedia:ululation said:
			
		

> ... a long, wavering, high-pitched vocal sound resembling a howl with a trilling quality. It is produced by emitting a high pitched loud voice accompanied with a rapid movement of the tongue and the uvula.[1] The term ululation is an onomatopoeic word derived from Latin.


with examples of practices that have an _l_ in their names, from several language families.


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## LilianaB

They say it to a horse, in some countries, like Poland, for example, Hej vio, and Northern people say it to the dogs, or huskies that pull their sled.


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## aruniyan

From etymonline.com i got these words, may be related to "hello"?

*Hear*: O.E. heran (Anglian), (ge)hieran, hyran (W.Saxon) "to hear, listen (to), obey, follow; accede to, grant; judge," from P.Gmc. *hausjan (cf. O.N. heyra, O.Fris. hora, Du. horen, Ger. hören, Goth. hausjan), perhaps from PIE *kous- "to hear"


*Listen* : O.E. hlysnan "to listen," from P.Gmc. *khlusinon (cf. O.H.G. hlosen "to listen," Ger. lauschen "to listen"), from PIE base *kleu- "hearing, to hear" (cf. Skt. srnoti "hears," srosati "hears, obeys;" Avestan sraothra "ear;" M.Pers. srod "hearing, sound;" Lith. klausau "to hear," slove "splendor, honor;" O.C.S. slusati "to hear," slava "fame, glory," slovo "word;" Gk. klyo "hear, be called," kleos "report, rumor, fame glory," kleio "make famous;" L. cluere "to hear oneself called, be spoken of;" O.Ir. ro-clui-nethar "hears," clunim "I hear," clu "fame, glory," cluada "ears;" Welsh clywaf "I hear;" O.E. hlud "loud," hleoðor "tone, tune;" O.H.G. hlut "sound;" Goth. hiluþ "listening, attention").

*Query/Quaero* : quaere, from L. quaere "ask," imperative of quaerere "to seek, gain, ask," probably ultimately from PIE *kwo-.


these words seems be connected and "Listen" seems to be the best match  for "hello" 

For me this is Interesting , the Tamil words for each of the above..
Hear/Listen: KElu, KEtpa
Query : KElvi


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## berndf

sotos said:


> So,  you are saying that the German "heil" is unrelated to Eng. hello, but  you agree that "heil" means "healthy" (whole) exactly as the homeric  "Oule". If you are correct, English must be one of the european  languages that the common_ salutation_ is nor related to the sense of health.


_Heil_ and _hallo_ are unrelated in German as well. In both English and German, _hallo/hello_ is not primarily a salutation but an exclamation to attract attention. The use as a salutation is secondary.

The word is most frequently associated with the OHG verb _halon = to scream, to shout, to summon_. E.g. here; but this explanation is incomplete as only the modern meaning _holen = to fetch_ is mentioned. OHG _halon _is cognate to Latin _calo_ and Greek _καλέω_.


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## Perseas

berndf said:


> The word is most frequently associated with the OHG verb _halon = to scream, to shout, to summon_. E.g. here; but this explanation is incomplete as only the modern meaning _holen = to fetch_ is mentioned. OHG _halon _is cognate to Latin _calo_ and Greek _καλέω_.


There's also the verb _ call_ in English which means _καλώ_ in Modern Greek. Are _halon_ and _call_  cognates?


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## berndf

Perseas said:


> There's also the verb _ call_ in English which means _καλώ_ in Modern Greek. Are _halon_ and _call_  cognates?


No. _Call _is of Anglo-Saxon origin. If you look for cognates of Germanic words starting with /k/ in Latin or Greek, you look for initial /g/ (Grimm's Law). A related Latin words are _gallus_ < PIE _*gal- = to cry, to shout_.


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## G a

I don't know how far back the etymology can actually be traced, but one thing's sure--"hello," or "hola," or "halloo," with many other variants, were common Medieval hunting calls, at least in Middle and Modern English, and possibly several other languages; I don't know if it ever had a specific meaning, or was always just a general cry to attract someone's attention, but it definitely had that use.

As far as its current usage as a greeting, it is quite modern--it didn't come into wide acceptance until the advent of the telephone.

http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=hello (by no means the only etymological dictionary with this explanation)


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## G a

Post #5 confirms that usage in Spanish.


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## mataripis

An expression that let others know you. Hello for me comes from Greek "Olos" meaning all.But in many asian countries, the sound " oy" is the equivalent of hello. It is a greeting by any one in any country.In Greece this sounds " Ya" (geia)!


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## berndf

mataripis said:


> Hello for me comes from Greek "Olos" meaning all.


Can you substantiate this? What means "for me"? Etymology has nothing to do with personal preference.


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## fra77x

I was thinking Hello derives from greek έλα which means "come", welcome. Is there a chance?


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## berndf

There is no etymological h in έλα. That makes it a rather farfetched theory.


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## ernest_

The University of Texas' Linguistic Research Center suggests a common Indo-European origin (page 29), based on the work of Julius Pokorny.


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## berndf

ernest_ said:


> The University of Texas' Linguistic Research Center suggests a common Indo-European origin (page 29), based on the work of Julius Pokorny.


A very questionable interpretation of Pokorny. The French _âllo _is a recent loan and certainly not a direct IE reflex; the etymology of Spanish _hola _is completely in the dark and the alledged Greek reflex has nothing to do with _hullo/hallo/hello_. Leaves the Germanic, specifically German, as the only halfway credible source, provided German _hallo _and English _hullo/hallo/hello _aren't chance coincidences which would be the case, if English _hullo/hallo/hello _were derived from French _holà_ as stated in etymonline.


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## mataripis

berndf said:


> Can you substantiate this? What means "for me"? Etymology has nothing to do with personal preference.


I'm sorry . But the word itself clearly describes wholeness and it sounds altered whole that became he- llo.the feeling when uttering this word is focused on the person's identity as a whole.people may have varied intellect but some are unaware in the sense of feelings which has no written data or records.


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## berndf

mataripis said:


> I'm sorry . But the word itself clearly describes wholeness and it sounds altered whole that became he- llo.the feeling when uttering this word is focused on the person's identity as a whole.people may have varied intellect but some are unaware in the sense of feelings which has no written data or records.


This is about the _actual_ history of the word (inheritance, loaning, sound shifts, etc.), not _fellings _one may attach to the sounds of the word. Unless you can demonstrate how this relates to the actual history of the word, such comments are out of scope in this forum.


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## fdb

ernest_ said:


> The University of Texas' Linguistic Research Center suggests a common Indo-European origin (page 29), based on the work of Julius Pokorny.



Neither Pokorny nor the Texan site actually says that English “hello” or German “hallo” come from the alleged IE *alā-. Pokorny in fact says: „nhd. _hallo_, _holla_ sind dagegen aus dem Imperativ von ahd. _halón_, _holón_ ‚holen‘ entwickelte Rufworte“.


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## mataripis

Why it has double l? Is ll -y and y-g? Producing word  e yeo which is almost geia of Greek!H Geia is health and geia sas is hello!


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## berndf

The spelling ll was just a long l as you would use in an shout.


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## parieur

*Moderator note*: Split off from here. and merged with existing thread on the same topic. 

I notice that Hutschi mentioned the (German?) word "hallo".
Being a German beginner myself, I was under the impression that it was a German word.  
Is this not so?

le P


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## Frieder

Yes, it _is_ a German word:
Ursprünglich der Imperativ zu ahd. _halon_, _holon_, vergleichbar mit _holla _zu _holen_. Eigentlich Zuruf an den Fährmann (_hol über_) mit im Zuruf gedehnter Endsilbe (Pluti), die deshalb in voller Form erhalten bleibt. (Kluge, etymologisches Wörterbuch d. deutschen Sprache)​


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## kency

Yes parieur, 'Hallo' is very old fashioned in English and not specific to it. Many European languages have a variation (e.g. hola) and it originates from Arabic according to most theories.


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## parieur

Thank you both!

le P


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## berndf

kency said:


> Yes parieur, 'Hallo' is very old fashioned in English and not specific to it. Many European languages have a variation (e.g. hola) and it originates from Arabic according to most theories.


I am not usually citing Wiktionary as an authoritative resource but this sums it up quite well:


> The popular theory of "hola" originating from Arabic _وَٱللّٰه_ ‎(wal-lāh, “really?, by God!”) is today discredited.


The derivation Frieder cited is the current consensus view.


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