ahoy en · INTJ
Pronunciation
Etymology
From a- + hoy (a nautical call used in hauling), from Middle English hoy (interjection), a greeting dating back to the fourteenth century. Compare Dutch hoi (“hi!, hello!”).
Meanings
-
Used to hail a ship, a boat or a person, or to attract attention.
I made a speaking trumpet of my hands and commenced to whoop “Ahoy!” and “Hello!” at the top of my lungs. […] The Colonel woke up, and, after asking what in brimstone was the matter, opened his mouth and roared “Hi!” and “Hello!” like the bull of Bashan.
1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter VII, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:While he was thus occupied, a voice, still more uncouth than the former, bawled aloud, ‘Ho! the house, a-hoy!’
1751, Tobias Smollett, The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle:“(grunts) Frankie put glass in the piccata and the restaurant comped us, so we got all these chips. Let's hit the casino.” “All right.” “Come on, Nadia. Let's go watch this Rat Pack show with the girls.” “Did you say "the Rat Pack"?” “Yeah, they're good.” “They're here?” “Yeah, yeah, it's the Rat Pack.” “Chips ahoy!”
2021 September 16, Sarah Naftalis, “The Casino” (6:53 from the start), in What We Do in the Shadows, season 3, episode 1, spoken by Laszlo Cravensworth (Matt Berry):
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(humorous) Warning of something approaching or impending.
Catalytic converters ahoy – Zeppelin's latest is one of those high-rev 3D driving games that simulates racing tracks from all over the world.
1992, Championship Run (video game review) in Your Sinclair issue 75, page 61Lawsuits, ahoy! […] Towns can regulate use of their beaches. But what about the waters offshore?
1989, Forbes, volume 143, numbers 5-7, page 74:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| a-hoy | alternative | lexicographic |
Deriveds
ship ahoy · ahoy-hoy · land ahoy
Descendants
ahoj · ahoj · ohøj · ahoi · ahoi
Synonyms
oi (to attract attention) · yo
Translations (20)
it ehi (used to hail a ship, etc) · pl ahoj! (used to hail a ship, etc) · es ah (used to hail a ship, etc) · de ahoi (used to hail a ship, etc) · ru эй! (used to hail a ship, etc) · sv åhoj! (used to hail a ship, etc) · cy ahoi (used to hail a ship, etc) · pt olá (used to hail a ship, etc) · eo hoj! (used to hail a ship, etc) · es a la vista (used to hail a ship, etc) · et ahoi (used to hail a ship, etc) · sv ohoj! (used to hail a ship, etc) · nl ahoi (used to hail a ship, etc) · la salvē (used to hail a ship, etc) · fi ohoi! (used to hail a ship, etc) · ca hola (used to hail a ship, etc) · da ohøj (used to hail a ship, etc) · cs ahoj (used to hail a ship, etc) · hu a láthatáron (used to hail a ship, etc) · fr ohé (used to hail a ship, etc)