Ahoy (greeting)

Ahoy (/əˈhɔɪ/) is a signal word used to call to a ship or boat, stemming from the Middle English cry, 'Hoy!'. The word had fallen into obsolescence before rising from obscurity as the sport of sailing rose in popularity. 'Ahoy' can also be used as a greeting, a warning, or a farewell.

The word can be found with similar pronunciation and writing in several other languages. In Slovak and Czech also, ahoj is a common, colloquial greeting, while 'Hoi' is used in Modern Dutch as an informal greeting equivalent to the English 'hi' or 'hey'. 'Ohøj' is used in Danish almost identically to the aforementioned usages. It stems from the sea-faring world, used as an interjection to catch the attention of other crew members, and as a general greeting. It can sometimes also be found on land spoken as a general greeting, again, especially in a maritime context.

Alexander Graham Bell originally suggested 'ahoy' be adopted as the standard greeting when answering a telephone, before 'hello' (suggested by Thomas Edison) became common.

Greeting

Greeting is an act of communication in which human beings intentionally make their presence known to each other, to show attention to, and to suggest a type of relationship (usually cordial) or social status (formal or informal) between individuals or groups of people coming in contact with each other. Greetings sometimes are used just prior to a conversation or to greet in passing, such as on a sidewalk or trail. While greeting customs are highly culture and situation-specific and may change within a culture depending on social status and relationship, they exist in all known human cultures. Greetings can be expressed both audibly and physically, and often involve a combination of the two. This topic excludes military and ceremonial salutes but includes rituals other than gestures. A greeting, or salutation, can also be expressed in written communications, such as letters and emails.

Some epochs and cultures have had very elaborate greeting rituals, for example, greeting of a sovereign. Conversely, secret societies have often furtive or arcane greeting gestures and rituals, such as a secret handshake, which allow members to recognize each other.