[Lexicog] A prototypical blessing

[Kim Blewett]

What about archaic English "hallow," meaning 'holy' or something similar--

"Online Etymology Dictionary," www.etymonline.com, Douglas Harper, says:
"hallow - O.E. halgian "to make holy, to honor as holy," related to halig
"holy," from P.Gmc. *khailig."

I'd always considered this the etymology of "hello." However, Online
Etymology Dictionary says it's an alteration of hallo/holla/hollo/holler,
"Perhaps from holla! 'stop, cease.' Popularity as a greeting coincides with
use of the telephone, where it won out over Alexander Graham Bell's
suggestion, ahoy."

Similar to the American Heritage quote below from Peter Kirk, but not a
blessing formula... To me, this sounds as probable an origin for Spanish
"hola" as Arabic wa-lla:h.

Very interesting discussion--sounds as if, perhaps, as Christianity or Islam
enters a culture, greetings that are a form of blessing tend to be created.
These then degrade over time until the God-related part is no longer
recognized except by strange people like us who love to study words.

I wonder if the concept of salutations/leavetakings has spread from the
Middle Eastern origins of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and was not
originally indigenous to the European cultures either? In Papua New Guinea
as well, these phrases are generally imported in some form from English. In
many culture-groups there, "Where are you going?" is a greeting; "I'm
leaving," is the common leave-taking.

Kim Blewett


> Interesting! If this the true etymology of Spanish ¡hola!, then it is
> probably also of English "hello". See the following from the American
> Heritage dictionary, http://www.bartleby.com/61/60/H0136000.html:
>
> > Alteration of /hallo/, alteration of obsolete /holla/, stop!, perhaps
> > from Old French /hola/ : /ho/, ho! + /la/, there (from Latin /illc/,
> > that way).



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