howdy
/ˈhaʊdi/ interjection, verb, noun
Forms howdies howdying howdied howdie
- interjection (US, regional, informal) An informal greeting. “Howdy folks, and welcome to our ninth annual chili cookoff!”
- verb (transitive) To greet informally, especially by saying "howdy"
- noun (Scotland) A wife.
- noun (Scotland) A midwife.
Synonyms
Etymology
Clipping of howdy-do, from how-d'ye-do (“how do you do”).
Unknown.
Webster’s 1913
Etymology [Scot., also houdy- wife. Of uncertain origin; cf. OSw. jordgumma; or perh. fr. E. how d'ye.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “howdy”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details