What is the real meaning of hello?

What is the real meaning of hello?

Hello is first recorded in the early 1800s, but was originally used to attract attention or express surprise (“Well, hello! What do we have here?”). But the true breakthrough for this now-common word was when it was employed in the service of brand-new technology: the telephone.

What did people say on the phone before hello?

Hello wasn’t used as a greeting until many years later when the telephone was invented. Instead of hello, he preferred the word “ahoy.” While ahoy may sound funny to us today, the word actually had been used as a greeting for a long time among sailors. Can you imagine answering your telephone today with a loud “Ahoy!”?

When did the word hi come into use?

Hi: greeting, 1862, American English (first recorded reference is to speech of a Kansas Indian), originally to attract attention (15c.), probably a variant of Middle English hy, hey (late 15c.) also an exclamation to call attention. Extended form hiya attested from 1940.

Is Greetings necessary in answering a call?

Answering the phone at work isn’t the same as answering your cell phone at home when a friend calls. Always have a formal greeting to let the caller know the place they’ve contacted and who’s answering. It’s as simple as: “Thank you for calling (company name).

Who says Hello first on phone?

Thomas Edison
Hello didn’t become “hi” until the telephone arrived. The dictionary says it was Thomas Edison who put hello into common usage. He urged the people who used his phone to say “hello” when answering. His rival, Alexander Graham Bell, thought the better word was “ahoy.”

How did people say hello before hello?

Prior to ‘hello’ coming along the predominant greetings would have been, ‘good morning’, ‘good afternoon’, ‘good evening’, etc. The word ‘hullo’ existed, but it was used as an expression of surprise – you’ll find it a lot in Conan Doyle’s ‘Sherlock Holmes’ stories. Hello came about because of the telephone.

Why do we say “hello” on the phone?

You can thank Thomas Edison for that. He was the one who proposed “hello” as the proper greeting, to the chagrin of his rival Bell. At the time, telephones were thought of like modern walkie-talkies, where the line would stay permanently open so businesses could communicate with each other whenever they pleased.

Who first used the word Hello?

The dictionary says it was Thomas Edison who put hello into common usage. He urged the people who used his phone to say “hello” when answering. His rival, Alexander Graham Bell, thought the better word was “ahoy.”.

Why do we say ‘Ahoy’ on the phone?

But if Alexander Graham Bell had his way, we would be saying “Ahoy.” The word “ahoy” has been around for at least 100 years longer than “hello.” It came from the Dutch word “hoi,” also a greeting. According to NPR, Bell was so certain it would catch on as the perfect phone conversation starter that he used it for the rest of his life.

Why do we say hello as a greeting in English?

And it wasn’t generally used as a greeting back then. Some people say earlier people in the 1830’s used to say ‘Hello’ to attract attention (“Hello, what are you doing here?”), or to express surprise (“Hello ! ! what have we here?”). Hello didn’t become “hi” until telephone arrived.