how did hello originate?

Answer 1

The USE of the form "hello" was certainly popularized by the telephone (though Bell's original suggestion for greeting was "ahoy").

But there are a number of examples of this form BEFORE the telephone existed, so that does not account for the word's origins.

There are many specific theories -- a number listed in the wikipedia article referenced below, but note three things:

1) English has had closely related forms for many centuries, such as "hullo" and "hallo".

2) References to "health" (either inquiries of the 'how are you?' sort or wishes of good health) are typical in many languages. Since English itself has H-L words related to this -- 'hale' and 'health' themselves-- including the greeting "Hail!" (cf. German "Heil!" which is also a word meaning 'health') it seems almost certain this root word played a part in these expressions.

3) Sometimes similar sounding words from different languages that happen to be used in somewhat similar contexts can influence each other. Thus a French or Spanish word that might have a somewhat different meaning might have some effect on the meaning and use of an English word with a very different history.

Note esp. that English has been influenced by several other languages, though the main focus, esp. for common words, should be on Germanic roots and Latin borrowings --the latter esp. through Middle French beginning with the Norman Conquest.

(Thus, when we read the American Heritage Dictionary's suggestion that "hello" goes back through French to a "ho-la" form, meaning 'hey there!' in its Latin roots, it is quite possible that this expression INFLUENCED English "hello", etc., but that the original English form actually came from an unrelated root. I think the hale/heil/hale (health) ORIGIN is most likely.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hello
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=hello
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/hello

Answer 2

I believe it derives from the german word "hallo" , which means the same thing. English is a language that has borrowed terms from different languages since its birth...

Answer 3

as a response to answering the phone shortly after the phone was invented

Answer 4

hail,hallu,norman