Oh, Hello There, Norwich! First Recorded Use Of Hello In Norwich Paper

NORWICH, CT —Hello? Yes, it's a big deal, actually.

The word used every day across the globe—hello—was first printed, and then soon became part of every day life, in the then-Norwich Courier in 1826, according to the Oxford English Dictionary.

The Norwich Courier, a weekly newspaper, was published from 1809 to 1845.

In an NPR report, it's noted that the Oxford English Dictionary explained that the word, at the time anyway, was not exactly the greeting that's been for around for almost 200 years, officially. Then, 'hello' was more an expression than a greeting: 'Hello, what do we have here,' for example.

So, a Norwich newspaper's language invention? Not exactly. Though the first-ever printed usage, it was actually from a quote in a Norwich Courier story: “Hello, Jim! I’ll tell you what: I’ve a sharp knife and feel as if I’d like to cut up something or other.”

Regardless, the paper's publishing of the word put it on the map. So much so that another Connecticut periodical, in this case the first phone book ever printed, by the first commercial telephone exchange, the District Telephone Company of New Haven, in 1878,instructed folks to use the greeting in phone calls.

Indeed, the Oxford English Dictionary's discussion of word origins says it was in 1877 that Thomas Edison, who improved on Alexander Graham Bell's invention of the year before, instructed users of his phone to say 'hello' when picking up a call. It's reported that Bell preferred "ahoy."

Good thing ahoy didn't stick. Doesn't have quite the same ring to it.