hola (Spanish)
Where does "hola" come from?
The Spanish greeting 'hola' likely originated from the French 'holà,' which was used as an exclamation to call out or demand a stop. This expression shares deep roots with older Germanic terms like the Old High German 'holōn,' which was traditionally used by travelers to hail a ferryman to fetch them. Over time, these various emphatic cries evolved into the friendly modern greetings we recognize today.
Full etymology tree
- hola (Spanish), 'hello, hi, hey'
- borrowed holà (French), 'hey, oi'
- compound ho (Old French)
- compound là (French), 'referring to physical place'
- derived la (Old French), 'the (feminine singular oblique definite article)'
- inherited illa (Latin), 'inflection of ille:'
- derived la (Old French), 'the (feminine singular oblique definite article)'
- borrowed holà (French), 'hey, oi'
Ancestors
- holà (French)
Cognates and doublets
- hola (Dutch)
Descendants and derived words
- hola (English)
- olá (Portuguese)
Updated July 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris