Where does “hallo” come from?
hallo (Danish) comes from Middle High German haln, from Old High German holōn, from Proto-West Germanic *holōn, from Proto-Germanic hulōną, from Proto-Indo-European ḱel- — to cover; to incline.
hallo (Danish): hello; n hello
Ancestry of “hallo”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle High German | haln | to fetch |
| 2 | Old High German | holōn | to get, fetch; to fetch, used especially in... |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | *holōn | — |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | hulōną | to call, appoint, summon; to fetch, get |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱel- | to cover; to incline |