A (Shockingly) Short History Of "Hello"

[mouser]

Very cool history of the word "Hello" that most of us take for granted..

The Oxford English Dictionary says the first published use of "hello" goes back only to 1827. And it wasn't mainly a greeting back then...

http://www.npr.org/blogs/krulwich/2011/02/17/133785829/a-shockingly-short-history-of-hello

from http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2011/02/the-history-of-hello.html

[tomos]

a nice read

they say "Hallo" in the German speaking world. I presume it's modern usage came over from the US, it had a similar earlier history to the English/American version.
My German etymological dictionary describes it's earlier origin in the 15th century as a call/shout to a Ferryman, but doesnt say how it changed to become a greeting...