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howdy1

[hou-dee]Informal.
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noun, plural how·dies, interjection
  1. hello; how do you do (used as an expression of greeting).
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Origin of howdy1

First recorded in 1820–30; from the phrase how do ye?

howdy2

[hou-dee]
noun, plural how·dies. Scot. and North England Slang.
  1. howdie.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for howdy

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • “Howdy,” he retorted, with as much amiability as it was possible for him to display.

    The Law-Breakers

    Ridgwell Cullum

  • "We wanted to be the fust to say howdy, old man," explained Asaph.

    Cy Whittaker's Place

    Joseph C. Lincoln

  • And he's about the only commercial traveler I would ever say howdy to at those times.

    Mixed Faces

    Roy Norton

  • “Howdy,” he civilly replied to a friendly greeting from Mr. Howell.

    The Boy Settlers

    Noah Brooks

  • "Howdy, pards," he said, with an assumption of the cowboy manner.

British Dictionary definitions for howdy

howdy

sentence substitute
  1. mainly US an informal word for hello
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Word Origin

C16: from the phrase how d'ye do
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 howdy

1837, earlier how de (1828), first recorded in Southern U.S. dialect, contraction of how do you do (1630s), phrase inquiring after someone's health; earlier how do ye (1560s).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper