hello
UK[həˈləʊ]US[həˈloʊ]
interj
A common greeting used when meeting someone or starting a telephone conversation.
n
An utterance of the word 'hello'; a greeting.
Etymology
The word 'hello' is a relatively modern English greeting, popularized in the late 19th century with the invention of the telephone. It derives from earlier exclamations like 'hollo' and 'holla', used to call attention or express surprise, which themselves may have roots in Old High German 'halâ' and French 'holà', meaning 'stop!' or 'look here!'. Its journey from a shout to a standard verbal greeting illustrates how a pragmatic call for attention was conventionalized into a polite social ritual, especially for initiating communication.
Analysis
The word is a simplex form. It is a variant of 'hallo', 'hollo', and 'holla', which were shouts to attract attention.
Examples
She gave a cheerful hello to everyone in the room.
Hello, is this the customer service department?
I picked up the phone and said hello.