Hilloa

Part of speech: interjection, verb

Definitions

1. A loud, long call made to attract someone's attention, especially across a distance or to urge on hounds in a hunt
2. A piercing cry sent out to get someone's notice from afar, or to spur on dogs during a chase
3. An exclamation of a sharp, far-carrying shout used to signal or summon others across open ground

Etymology: Long before the telephone, "hilloa" was a shout used to get someone's attention, and its roots lie in an Old English exclamation, "ēalā," which was used much as "hey" or "hi" are today. The word's form was shaped by a cluster of related cries: "holla" and "hollo," attested from 1588, and a Germanic verb meaning "to call" or "to fetch," used for hailing a ferryman. Scholars are not certain which of these influenced the others. The spelling "hello" appears in print from 1826, decades before the telephone existed. The popular claim that Thomas Edison invented the greeting for phone calls is therefore false, though the word did later become the standard way to answer one. Since "hilloa" is now obsolete, its modern descendant "hello" took over the role entirely.

Synonyms: halloo, ahoy, hello, hey