Where does “hi” come from?
Hi comes from Old English hē, from Proto-Germanic ahwō, from Proto-Indo-European h₂ekʷeh₂, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European roots including ḱe-, skek-, and kew-, though the precise semantic development remains unclear.
hi (English): API; A friendly, informal, casual greeting said...
Definitions
- API; A friendly, informal, casual greeting said...
Ancestry of “hi”, step by step
hi traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle English hey
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | hey | hay; hey; Alternative form of heye |
| 2 | Old English | hē | hey |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | *hiʀ | — |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | hīz | nominative plural masculine of *hiz; these, these... |
via Middle English hy
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | hy | Alternative form of heo; Alternative form of he |