ballyhoo English · revision 2143

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /bæliˈhuː/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The origin is unknown.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) The same spelling belongs to a sailors' word for a disliked or unseaworthy ship (1836, also ''ballahou''),^(AHD)^(Etymonline)^(Wiktionary) said to come from Spanish ''balahú'' “schooner”,^(AHD)^(Etymonline) but no link to the publicity sense has been established.^(AHD) Other suggestions include the late-19th-century ''to give someone ballyhoo'' “to shout and scold”, perhaps a euphemism for ''hell'',^(Etymonline) the Irish village of Ballyhooly,^(Etymonline) and the imaginary ''ballyhoo bird'' of an 1880 magazine article.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A barker's touting speech outside a carnival or sideshow (1901).^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In 1901 a ballyhoo was the patter of a barker drawing customers into a show, or the barker himself.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) From there it spread to any blarney or bombastic talk, and to extravagant advertising of any kind;^(OED 1989)^(AHD) the sense “publicity, hype” is established by 1908.^(Etymonline) The verb, to promote by such methods, is also recorded from 1901.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1836 – a sailors' word for a disliked ship.^(AHD)

+ * 1875 – ''to give (someone) ballyhoo'', to shout and scold.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1901 – a barker's touting speech.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1901 – verb, to promote extravagantly.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1908 – publicity, hype.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Sensational or noisy advertising and publicity.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Noisy shouting or commotion.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A noisy demonstration or talk meant to attract attention.^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To advertise or promote by sensational methods.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[hype]]

+ * [[hoopla]]

+ * [[fanfare]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}