Ola

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A greeting or salutation in certain languages expressing hello or welcome; a wave of people standing successively in a stadium or crowd; a type of large ocean wave caused by atmospheric disturbances
2. An expression used in some cultures to say hi or welcome; a coordinated rising and falling of spectators in a sports arena; a natural phenomenon involving a moving swell on a body of water
3. A friendly verbal acknowledgment common in certain languages; a collective wave initiated by fans in a crowd to show enthusiasm; a physical surge of water traveling across seas or oceans caused by wind or seismic activity

Etymology: Tamil "ōlai" (ஓலை) meant a palm leaf, the dried leaf of palms that South Indian scribes inscribed with a stylus and used as a writing surface. The word is the source of the English form "olay." In Anglo-Indian usage, an "olay" came to mean a letter or written message on such a leaf. "Ola" is an alternative spelling of the same word, so this palm-leaf sense is its documented origin.

Synonyms: wave, cheer, applause, greeting, salutation

Antonyms: silence, quiet, stillness, calm, inaction