hello

Hello, everyone.

A greeting (salutation) said when meeting someone or acknowledging someone’s arrival or presence.

Hello? How may I help you?

Hello. This is Marsha. ― Yes, Marsha.
Audio (US): (file)

2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)

A greeting used when answering the telephone.

Hello? Is anyone there?

I made a speaking trumpet of my hands and commenced to whoop “Ahoy!” and “Hello!” at the top of my lungs. […] The Colonel woke up, and, after asking what in brimstone was the matter, opened his mouth and roared “Hi!” and “Hello!” like the bull of Bashan.

1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter VII, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y., London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:

A call for response if it is not clear if anyone is present or listening, or if a telephone conversation may have been disconnected.

You just tried to start your car with your cell phone. Hello?

Uh, hello? We're using a CANNON to get to the moon? Isn't that, like, dangerous?

2004, Intelligent Systems, translated by Nintendo of America, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Nintendo, GameCube, level/area: Rogueport:

(colloquial) Used sarcastically to imply that the person addressed has done something the speaker considers to be foolish, or missed something that should have been obvious.

Hello! What’s going on here?

(chiefly UK) An expression of puzzlement or discovery.

→ Amharic: ሀሎ (halo)

desc

→ Chinese: 哈嘍 /哈喽 (hālou), 哈囉 /哈啰 (hāluó), 哈囉 /哈啰 (hāluó), 哈佬 (hālǎo)

→ Japanese: ハロー (harō)

→ Malay: helo

→ Scottish Gaelic: halò

ܫܠܵܡܵܐ ܥܲܠܵܟ݂ܝ

šlāmā ˁallāḵ

ܫܠܵܡܵܐ ܥܲܠܵܘܟ݂ܘܿܢ

šlāmā ˁallāwḵōn

sveiki

informal to more than one person or people of indeterminate gender

nsellmulek

formal more than one person to one person

nsellmulkom

formal more than one person to more than one persons

dumelang

as in dumelang, borra, "hello gentlemen"

اَلسَّلامُ عَلَیکُم وَرَحْمَۃُاللہ وَبَرَکَاتُہ (as-salāmu 'alaikum va-rahmatu-llāh, literally “Peace be upon you & May Allah bless”)

マジかよ

Are you sure?, You're kidding!, more informal

Hello (first attested in 1826), from holla, hollo (attested 1588). This variant of hallo is often credited to Thomas Edison as a coinage for telephone use, but its appearance in print predates the invention of the telephone by several decades.
Ultimately from a variant of Old English ēalā, such as hēlā, which was used colloquially at the time similarly to how hey and (in some dialects) hi are used nowadays. Thus, equivalent to a compound of hey and lo. Used when drawing attention to yourself.
Possibly influenced by Old Saxon halo!, imperative of halōn (“to call, fetch”), used in hailing a ferryman, akin to Old High German hala, hola!, imperative forms of halōn, holōn (“to fetch”). More at hallo.
OED and Merriam-Webster also suggested that it is a variant of holla, a variant of holloo. Further beyond, the origin remains uncertain. OED and Merriam-Webster suggested that it has a connection between hallow (“to shout, to cry out loud”), which came from Old French holloer.
According to Altfranzösisches Wörterbuch, Old French holloer is from Old Saxon halon.

hallo (alternative)
hilloa (alternative)
hullo (alternative)


hello

In many new buildings, though, neighbors are venturing beyond tight-lipped hellos at the mailbox.

2007 April 29, Stephanie Rosenbloom, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”, in New York Times:

hellos (plural)
helloes (plural)
hallo (alternative)
hilloa (alternative)
hullo (alternative)


hello

She is there guarding and looking after the candy and the children generally, and she helloes and renders an exclamation that Maidie is crossing the street.

1891, Records and Briefs in Cases Decided by the Supreme Court of Minnesota, page 227:

He helloes to my daughter:[…]

‘Hello Minka! Great to meet you!’ Minka seems nonplussed at what I thought was an uncontroversial opening remark. There’s an awkward pause. She then helloes me back. But that’s all I get.

2012, Mark Dolan, Do You Mind if I Put My Hand on it?: Journeys into the Worlds of the Weird, HarperCollinsPublishers, →ISBN:

I had to traipse around somewhat, helloing people and being helloed, before I spotted my mother and my father, sharing shade and a spread blanket with Pete and Marie Reese and Toussaint Rennie near the back of the park.

2013, Ivan Doig, English Creek, page 139:

en-verb

hello (third-person singular simple present hellos or helloes, present participle helloing, simple past and past participle helloed)

hellos (present singular third-person)
helloes (present singular third-person)
helloing (participle present)
helloed (participle past)
helloed (past)
hallo (alternative)
hilloa (alternative)
hullo (alternative)