interjections

Was Old English “ēalās” equivalent to Modern English “hello”?

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In a question in the Spanish Language site about the origin of Spanish hola ‘hello’, one of the answers states that Old English ēalās, written ēalā before a name, already sounded quite similar to hola, and was used as an equivalent to our current hello. The user states that ēalā freond means hello friend. But … Read more

A replacement exclamation for “Gee” or “Man”?

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Sometimes, I might say ‘Man’, as the precursor to a statement as in this recent example I said to myself after reading something: “Man, to give anything a label will always technically be reductive, and thereby cause assumptions…” or “Man, there are a lot of people here.” I don’t like using ‘man’ since it sounds … Read more

What are some non-expletives interjections for “I almost forgot [something]”

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Just before leaving a conversation with someone, what non-expletives interjection could I use instead of the sentence “I almost forgot …” if I want to sound apologetic? For instance: Could you please move my car from the entrance?… I almost forgot, you’ll be needing my keys. Answer What about “Oh, right”? Or some variant of … Read more

What is the meaning of “that” as an Internet slang?

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I see many times in comment sections of Internet forums such comments as the following: A: This girl is so ugly and I know nobody will date her ever. B: That! What does it mean? Answer “That!” is an affirmation by the person saying it approving of what another speaker has just said. Here are … Read more

Is “shh” a word and why?

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Is shh a word? If it is, why is it a word? If it is not, why isn’t it a word? Answer Shh is a word. According to Merriam-Webster, a word is: a speech sound or series of speech sounds that symbolizes and communicates a meaning usually without being divisible into smaller units capable of … Read more

Onomatopoeia for disgust

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Are there any English onomatopoeias for disgust / loathe? What exclamations are commonly used to express repulsion? Something that could be used like: (___) dog shit. I loathe it! (some sound here) … to increase the expressiveness of the sentence? Answer The conventional exclamation for disgust is yuck (alternatively, yech); the Macmillan entry says it … Read more

Modern equivalent for “arrah”, or for its Irish version, “yarrah”

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I was reading an article on dialect discourse markers, and I came across one, namely "arrah", the meaning of which I couldn’t fully understand. It was said that it is in some sort a "defensive" discourse marker, used in tense conversations, especially when there is a difference in social status between the speakers. Below is … Read more

Origin of “Period” and “Full Stop” as Interjections

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In North America and the UK, “period” and “full stop” are used as interjections “to indicate that a decision is irrevocable or that a point is no longer discussable” (sense 23, here). For example, “We’re done, period” or “We need more people to join IRC, full stop” (here). EDIT: “Full stop” might have broader interjectional … Read more