hail-fellow

[ noun heyl-fel-oh; adjective heyl-fel-oh ]

noun

1. Also hail fellow, hail-fellow well met. a spiritedly sociable person; jolly companion.

adjective

1. sociable; heartily genial:

   His hail-fellow manner helped him to advance in the sales force.

Word History and Origins

Origin of hail-fellow¹

First recorded in 1570–80

Example Sentences

It could not be that Gordon, could it, with his hail-fellow-well-met manner?

From Project Gutenberg

And at first he sings small, and is hail-fellow-well-met with Sheamus—that's James of the Glens, my chieftain's agent.

From Project Gutenberg

Cf. the use of the phrase "to be hail-fellow-well-met with anyone."

From Project Gutenberg

Some waved greeting to Jack Fyfe, and he waved back in the hail-fellow fashion of the camps.

From Project Gutenberg

Mr. Clavering is fastidious, and will not feel honored by the attentions of one who is hail-fellow-well-met with everybody.

From Project Gutenberg