Past tense of 'hello'; to have greeted someone with the word 'hello.'
From 'hello,' which originated as a variant of 'hallo' or 'hollo,' an exclamation used to hail people. 'Hello' as a greeting became standard with the telephone in the late 1800s.
Before Alexander Graham Bell, 'hello' was rarely used; the telephone needed a short, attention-grabbing greeting, and 'hello' won out over Edison's preferred 'ahoy'—showing how technology shapes language.
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