Halloos

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Calls out loudly, often to draw someone's attention or to urge on hounds ; a loud, piercing cry sent out to attract notice across a distance
2. Shouts or hollers in a loud voice to signal someone from afar ; the act of letting out a long, carrying cry to get attention
3. Raises a loud call to gain the notice of others at a distance ; a sharp, ringing shout uttered to signal or summon people

Etymology: "Halloos" is the third-person singular present form of "halloo," a verb meaning to call out loudly, and that verb is the base form that the inflection attaches to. The base word reached English from Middle English "hallow," meaning to pursue or urge on, especially in hunting, and that sense came from Old French "haloer," which was formed imitatively, that is, from the sound of a shout itself rather than from an existing root. The word's modern sense of a loud call survives from its hunting origins: a hunter's shout was used to urge hounds forward. The noun "halloo" and the verb share this imitative cry, which is why the word sounds like the call it describes.

Synonyms: shout, holler, yell, call, hail

Antonyms: hush, whisper