hey

[hey] /heɪ/
interjection
1.
(used as an exclamation to call attention or to express pleasure, surprise, bewilderment, etc.)
2.
Informal. hello: used as a greeting.
Origin
1150-1200; Middle English hei
Examples from the web for hey
  • The game was to set these as low as possible and, hey presto, to beat them.
  • hey guys that is really cool you got to see a volcano.
  • hey, if it's not there, throw it away and play another day.
  • Gee, hey, gee it's a gas to try to solve such a conundrum.
  • hey, blond hair and blue eyes are recessive as are red hair and green eyes.
  • But hey, let's keep dreaming of a green world and put our shoulders under the anti-global-warming movement.
  • hey, laxatives worked for the guys on my high school's wrestling team.
  • Of course rail car shipping is more expensive and certainly has more emissions than by pipeline but what the hey.
  • hey solar, you paint a real pretty picture at the end of your last comment.
  • But hey, with the genome sequenced it'll be that much easier to make lab grown meat.
British Dictionary definitions for hey

hay2

/heɪ/
noun
1.
a circular figure in country dancing
2.
a former country dance in which the dancers wove in and out of a circle
Word Origin
C16: of uncertain origin

hey

/heɪ/
interjection
1.
an expression indicating surprise, dismay, discovery, etc, or calling for another's attention
2.
(South African) an exclamation used for emphasis at the end of a statement, or alone to seek repetition or confirmation of another person's statement
3.
hey presto, an exclamation used by conjurors to herald the climax of a trick
Word Origin
C13: compare Old French hay, German hei, Swedish hej
Word Origin and History for hey

c.1200, variously, in Middle English, hei, hai, ai, he, heh, expressing challenge, rebuttal, anger, derision, sorrow, or concern; also a shout of encouragement to hunting dogs. Possibly a natural expression (cf. Roman eho, Greek eia, German hei).

Þa onswerede þe an swiðe prudeliche, `Hei! hwuch wis read of se icudd keiser!' ["St. Katherine of Alexandria," c.1200]
In Latin, hei was a cry of grief or fear; but heia, eia was an interjection denoting joy.

Slang definitions & phrases for hey

hey

interjection

An exclamation used to underscore mildly what is said: Pennzoil has been arguing that, hey, they are reasonable people/ I tried explaining that, hey, basically a goose is just a big duck/ Hey, I'm only human

[1980s+; the use is attenuated from the ancient call for attention found by 1225]