From: ram@zedat.fu-berlin.de   
      
   Ross Clark  schrieb oder zitierte:   
   >In a triumph of English spelling, the word has been spelled with all   
   >five of the vowels available: hallo, hello, hillo, hollo, hullo.   
      
     According to Kluge, the interjection "Hallo," now part of   
     standard German vocabulary, originated in the 15th century.   
      
     It was initially the imperative form of the Old High German   
     words "halÅ   
   n" or "holÅ   
   n" (similar to modern German "holen,"   
     meaning "to fetch"). Kluge suggests it was essentially a call   
     to the ferryman, meaning "Fetch (me) over!" with an elongated   
     final syllable (pluti), which is why it retains its full form.   
      
   --- SoupGate-DOS v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)