allô

Pronunciation

• IPA: /a.lo/^[1]

Forms

allô (interjection); also written allo^[1]

Etymology

It is a frenchified form (1890) of hallo (1881), borrowed from English hallo, an interjection of the United States used to hail and greet someone and to call on the telephone; the operators were called “hello girls”.^[2][3][1] The English word, also hello, is a variant of the older hollo (16th century), related to the cry holla, which gave French holà.^[2] The Grand Robert calls the English word an onomatopoeia and dates “allô” to 1880.^[3] A witness quoted in 1906 claims another origin: in 1880 people answered the telephone with “allons !”, later denasalized to allo.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Hallo is recorded in 1881 and allô in 1890, as the call that opens a telephone conversation.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

It has kept this use, often repeated (allô, allô), to check that the other person is listening.^[2][1] In Canada hello is common, and in North American French allô is also a greeting face to face.^[2][1] Familiar French also uses allô ? ironically to someone who has missed something obvious.^[1] The English interjection hello itself came into French in 1895.^[2]

Timeline

• 1880 – According to a witness, allons ! on the telephone.^[2]
• 1881 – Hallo.^[2]
• 1890 – Allô.^[2]
• 1895 – Hello in French.^[2]

Meanings

Interjection

1. hello: said when answering or making a telephone call: allô, qui est à l'appareil ?.^[1][2]
2. Used to check that someone is still on the line or listening: allô ? tu m'entends ?.^[1][2]
3. (Canada) Hello, hi, as a greeting.^[1]
4. (familiar) Hello? (to someone missing the obvious).^[1]

Related words

• holà
• English hello

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert