alo

Etymology

It is borrowed from French allô.^{[2][3][4][5][1]} The DA calls the French word Anglo-American, and DELR derives it from English hallo or hello, an interjection for catching someone's attention that spread with the telephone.^[4][2] French took the American English word in 1881 and adapted its spelling in 1890.^[6] MDN gives the English word as a second source beside French.^[7]

Graur doubted the French source, since the French hardly used the word on the telephone; the use as a general call, outside telephone talk, comes in his view from German and Hungarian, spread in the 1930s and 1940s by translated novels, which also used it for the English greeting.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELR dates the telephone interjection to 1907, from the DA, where it is the call used to reach someone on the telephone.^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

From the telephone the word passed to any call for attention when the speaker is not seen.^[2][9] Graur saw this use spread in the 1930s and 1940s.^[8] DEX 2009 also lists a noun alo, plural alouri, “a telephone call”.^[5]

Timeline

• 1907 – the telephone interjection, the first record.^[2]
• 1930s–1940s – spread as a general call, by Graur's account.^[8]

Meanings

Interjection

1. hello: the word used to call someone or to answer on the telephone: Alo, cine e la telefon? “Hello, who's speaking?”^[2][5]
2. A call to catch someone's attention: Alo, ai uitat geanta! “Hey, you forgot your bag!”^[5][9]

Noun

1. A telephone call (plural alouri).^[5]

Usage notes

DEX also allows the stress álo.^[5]

Transylvanian has an older interjection alo “off with you!, get away!”, recorded from 1853 in Barițiu and Munteanu's dictionary and taken from German hallo by the DA and DELR;^[2] Tiktin calls its origin unknown.^[2][4][10]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2011–), Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române (DELR), vol. I: A–B (2011), vol. II: C (2015–2018), București: Editura Academiei Române; continued online at delr.lingv.ro, p. s.v. alo
3. ^ Ciorănescu, Alexandru (1958–1966), Diccionario etimológico rumano, La Laguna: Universidad de La Laguna (Romanian ed.: Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române, București: Saeculum, 2001), p. s.v. alo
4. ^ a b c d Academia Română (1913–1949), Dicționarul limbii române (DA), ed. Sextil Pușcariu, tom I (A–B, C, D–De) and tom II (F–I, J–Lojniță), București: Socec / Universul / Monitorul Oficial și Imprimeriile Statului; page scans at cflr-scans.solirom.ro, p. s.v. alo
5. ^ a b c d e f DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 30
6. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. alo
8. ^ a b c Graur, Alexandru (1975), Alte etimologii românești, București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. alo
9. ^ a b Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 44
10. ^ Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. alo