hello (English)

Where does "hello" come from?

The English greeting 'hello' is first attested in 1826[1], evolving from earlier variants like 'holla' and 'hollo'[1]. These forms connect back to Middle English interjections used to call attention, which ultimately represent Old English variants such as 'hēlā' and 'ēalā'[1][4]. This older expression functioned colloquially much like modern terms such as 'hey' or 'hi' to draw attention[1]. The development may have also received influence from the Old Saxon 'halo!', an imperative form of 'halōn' meaning to call or fetch, traditionally used when hailing a ferryman[1].

Open questions

The potential influence of Old Saxon halo on the development of hello remains a possibility rather than a certainty. [1]
The exact origin further beyond holla and holloo remains uncertain according to major dictionary sources. [1]

Full etymology tree

hello (English), 'A greeting used when answering the telephone.'
- derived holla (English), 'To shout out or greet casually.'
  - derived hallo (English), 'Alternative form of hello (“greeting”).'
    - derived hela (Old English), 'alternative form of ēalā'
      - derived eala (Old English), 'oh; hey; good heavens; frequently glosses Latin O and eheu.'
        compound ea (Old English), 'river'
        compound la (Old English), 'lo!, oh!, ah!'

Cognates and doublets

halon (Old Saxon)

Descendants and derived words

ሀሎ (Amharic)
ciallo (Chinese)
哈佬 (Chinese)
哈咯 (Chinese)
哈啰 (Chinese)
哈喽 (Chinese)
哈嘍 (Chinese)
哈囉 (Chinese)
golden hello (English)
hello again (English)
hello girl (English)
helloji (English)

Sources

Updated September 2026

More words starting with H

Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris