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hi

¹

[hahy]

|

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WATCH NOW: Why Are There So Many Ways To Say "Hi"?

WATCH NOW: Why Are There So Many Ways To Say "Hi"?

Why on Earth are there so many ways to say "hi"? Is it because greeting people is something we all do ... all the time? Probably.

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interjection

(used as an exclamation of greeting); hello!

Nearby words

Origin of hi

¹

1425–75; late Middle English hy, perhaps variant of hei hey

Can be confusedhi hie high

hi

²

[hahy]

adjective

an informal, simplified spelling of high: hi fidelity.

HI

Hawaii (approved especially for use with zip code).

H.I.

Hawaiian Islands.

Meteorology. heat index.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for hi

People we pass on the street, sit next to on the subway, say hi to at work every day.
‘High Maintenance,’ Like a Good High, Is Funny and Sometimes Unsettling|Caitlin Dickson|November 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And he said hi back and smiled and sort of patted the baby on the head and everything.
The Stacks: Grateful Dead I Have Known|Ed McClanahan|August 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Robin crossed to me from across the room, got down to my level, and whispered “Hi, how are you?”
Mara Wilson Remembers Robin Williams: We're All His Goddamn Kids|Mara Wilson|August 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Below is the email response I received: Hi, thank you but we respectfully decline.
You Don’t Hate Feminism. You Just Don’t Understand It.|Emily Shire|July 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST

After you insisted, you write that, “no one from the crew would meet my eyes or say hi.”
The Unsinkable Lee Grant Sets the Record Straight|William O’Connor|July 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Uttered once, suddenly, from the far side of a hedge it would admirably convey such a sentiment as, "Hi!"
Punch, or the London Charivari, May 27, 1914|Various
Instead of piping, "Hi, Mr. Crowninshield, did you find out anything?"
Walter and the Wireless|Sara Ware Bassett
I helped Joe and Hi Upham take 'em off, one day, and 'twas a regular circus.
Jack in the Rockies|George Bird Grinnell
Truth is, sir, Hi wanted to ask Miss Wallace what she would like for dinner.
The Pirate of Panama|William MacLeod Raine
You must allow that I do not despise the ‘Hi's’ of the crowd from arrogance, but from a propensity to humanity and goodness.
Royal Highness|Thomas Mann

British Dictionary definitions for hi

hi

¹

sentence substitute

an informal word for hello

Word Origin for hi

C20: originally US, from hiya

interjection

an expression used to attract attention

Word Origin for hi

C15 hy; compare hey

HI

abbreviation for

Hawaii (state)

Hawaiian Islands

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for hi

hi

greeting, 1862, American English (first recorded reference is to speech of a Kansas Indian), originally to attract attention (15c.), probably a variant of Middle English hy, hey (late 15c.) also an exclamation to call attention. Extended form hiya attested from 1940.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper