Michael Sterling

“Did you know that word is a recent invention?” I said, “What word?” “Hello,” she said. “It was developed as a greeting only after the invention of the telephone. People felt they needed something to say when they picked up the receiver. It was a corruption of the old word halloo. Which was really an expression of temporary shock or surprise. You would come upon something unexpected, and you would go, Halloo! Perhaps people were startled by the shrillness of the telephone bell.”