hi

American English (first recorded reference is to speech of a Kansas Indian), originally to attract attention, probably a variant of Middle English hy, hey (circa 1475) also an exclamation to call attention.

• heigh

• IPA^(key): /haɪ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪ
• Homophones: Hi, hie, high

hi

1. A friendly, informal, casual greeting said when meeting someone.

   Hi, how are you?

   I just dropped by to say “hi”.

   • 2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)

     Anna: Pete, hi! Hi, we are here! — Pete: Hi, Anna! Hi, Marsha! — Anna: Hi! — Pete: How are you two? — Marsha: I am great!

     Audio (US)

     (file)

2. An exclamation to call attention.
   • 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 7, in Mr. Pratt's Patients:

     I made a speaking trumpet of my hands and commenced to whoop “Ahoy!” and “Hello!” at the top of my lungs. […] The Colonel woke up, and, after asking what in brimstone was the matter, opened his mouth and roared “Hi!” and “Hello!” like the bull of Bashan.

3. (dated) Expressing wonder or derision.

• (friendly informal greeting): hello

hi (plural his)

1. The word "hi" used as a greeting.

   I didn't even get a hi.

• greeting, hello

From high.

hi

1. Informal spelling of high, often hyphenated.

   Get hi-quality videos here!

• hi-tech
• hi-lo
• hi-fi
• hi-five

• lo
• mid

• IH

Tosk form of Gheg hî (pl. hin), from Proto-Albanian *skina, from *skines, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱenHis (compare Latin cinis ‘dust; cinder’, Ancient Greek κόνις (kónis) ‘ashes; dust’).

hi m (definite singular hiri)

1. ashes

• hirtë

hi

1. you (singular, familiar)

hi

1. she

From Old Catalan y, i, hic, from Latin hīc (“here”) and ibī (“there”). Compare French y.

• IPA^(key): /i/
• Homophone: i
• Rhymes: -i

hi (enclitic and proclitic)

1. represents a place associated with the action described by the verb, unless the place would be introduced by the preposition de
2. there (in constructions such as "there is", "there are", etc.: see haver-hi)
3. replaces an adverb (or adverbial phrase) describing the manner, instrument or association of an action
4. replaces a phrase introduced by any preposition except de (most commonly a or en)
5. replaces an indefinite noun or an adjective which is the predicate of a verb other than ésser, esdevenir, estar or semblar
6. (Central Catalan) in combination with other object pronouns, the third-person singular indirect object pronoun ("to him", "to her", "to it")

• When more than one object pronoun is associated with a given verb, hi is always the last in the group.
• Hi and ho cannot be used together with the same verb, nor can two his be used together.
• It is sometimes stated that hi is never used to replace a compliment beginning with de. This is not completely accurate, as hi can replace adverbial phrases such as de pressa, de sobte, etc.

• (Proclitic contractions): l'hi, m'hi, n'hi, s'hi, t'hi
• (Enclitic contractions): -ens-hi, -l'hi, -la-hi, -les-hi, -los-hi, 'ls-hi, -m'hi, -n'hi, 'ns-hi, -s'hi, -t'hi, -us-hi, -vos-hi

• en pron
• ho pron

• “hi” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

hi

1. she (third-person feminine singular personal pronoun).

hi

1. Aspirate mutation of ki.

• Rhymes: -i
• Rhymes: -iː

From Norwegian hi, from Old Norse hið.

hi n (singular definite hiet, plural indefinite hier)

1. winter quarters, winter lair (for hibernation); hibernation (used literally or figuratively)

   at gå i hi

   to enter hibernation

• vinterhi

Onomatopoeia for laughter or giggling.

hi

1. (onomatopoeia) Signifies giggling.

• ha

hị

1. (Namumi) Synonym of he

• Karl J. Franklin, Comparative Wordlist 1 of the Gulf District and adjacent areas (1975), page 67

hi

1. Rōmaji transcription of ひ
2. Rōmaji transcription of ヒ

hī

1. nominative masculine plural of hic

From Arabic هِيَ‎ (hiya)

• IPA^(key): /iː/

hi

1. she

From Old Dutch hīe, from Proto-Germanic *hiz.

• IPA^(key): /hiː/

hi

1. he

• Dutch: hij
• Limburgish: hae

• “hi”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
• “hi (I)”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, 1929

hi

1. Alternative form of I

• “ich (pron.)” in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 5 May 2018.

From Old English hē, from Proto-Germanic *hiz (“this, this one”).

hi

1. Alternative form of he

• “he, (pron.)” in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 6 May 2018.

hi

1. Alternative form of heo

• “he, pron. (2)” in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 10 June 2018.

From Old English hīe, hī.

hi

1. Alternative form of he

• “he, pron. (3)” in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 12 June 2018.

• Possibly: IPA^(key): /hiː/
• Certainly: Stem vowel: ê⁴
  • IPA^(key): /hiɛ/, /hiə/

hî

1. Alternative form of hê.

From Old Frisian hī, from Proto-Germanic *hiz, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱe.

hi

1. he

• IPA^(key): /hiː/ (example of pronunciation)

From Old Norse híð and híði.

hi n (definite singular hiet, indefinite plural hi, definite plural hia)

1. lair (of an animal), sett (badgers)

   Bjørnene har gått i hi for vinteren.

   The bears have entered their lairs for the winter.

hi

1. feminine singular of hin

hi

1. hee; expression of snickering

• “hi” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

hī

1. Alternative form of hīe (“they”)

hi

1. he

hi

1. Alternative form of i
   • c. 800, Würzburg Glosses on the Pauline Epistles, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. I, pp. 499–712, Wb. 7d10

     Corrop inonn cretem bes hi far cridiu ⁊ a n-as·beraid hó bélib.

     So that the belief which is in your heart and what ye utter with your lips may be the same.

hi

1. for, because

hi

1. indeed, certainly

• Robert Cæsar Childers (1875), A Dictionary of the Pali Language, London: Trübner & Co.

• hi in Pali Text Society (1921–1925), Pali-English Dictionary, London: Chipstead. (licensed under CC-BY-NC)

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [hi˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [hɪj˧˧]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [hɪj˧˧]

hi

1. to bare one's teeth

   Hi răng ra coi nào.

   Let me see your teeth.

• nhe

From Proto-Celtic *sī (compare Old Irish sí).

• IPA^(key): /hiː/

hi

1. she, her

• IPA^(key): /hiː/ (example of pronunciation)
  • Rhymes: -íːð
  • (southernmost lects) Rhymes: -íː, -íːð
  • (í-ý merger) Rhymes: -íːð, -ýːð

From Old Norse híð and híði.

hi n

1. lair (of an animal), sett (badgers)

• hi a
• higrän