Many think the word ‘Hello’ has been part of our language for centuries – but it hasn’t! It only came about with the advent of the telephone.
Until then traditional greetings in a face-to-face situation would have ‘Good Morning’, ‘Good Afternoon’ etc. Over the phone, however, early users felt uncomfortable at not being able to see the person at the other end. As a result the word ‘Hello’ was created. It was initially used as much as a question as a greeting – aimed partly at establishing that there was someone listening at the other end!
Roderick Morgan