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.

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